Cloudy Days
by phoebe.a
Summary: Letting someone go is half the battle. To fall out of love with them is the other half. Shikamaru X Ino. Alternate Universe. Part 3/4 of Days Saga/Series.
1. Stupid

**Cloudy Days**

_Letting someone go is half the battle. To fall out of love with them is the other half. Shikamaru X Ino. Alternate Universe._

After seeing her many years later made him crazy. Shikamaru tugged at his shirt cuffs and rolled his shoulders. He had to think. With Chouji replacing Kiba as drummer of _Soleil_, he had a lot of work ahead of him. He blamed it all on Kiba and his stupid decision of quitting the band. What was it about women that made men quit fame and fortune to settle down to start families? He knew that he was on that same track once upon a time, but he refused to go through it again. He wouldn't let long, blonde hair and big, blue eyes govern him again. Shikamaru Nara did not fall for the same trick twice. He was blessed with such intellect that he was able to surpass that sort of heartache and become one of the greatest managers in the biz.

A second later, his secretary entered and deposited his mail onto his desk. He muttered a quick 'thank you' before sorting through them. There was a letter in a fancy, non-recyclable crème envelope. Shikamaru opened it with his letter opener and pulled out the paper inside. He unfolded it with a flick of a wrist and quickly read the contents inside. It was a formal wedding invitation inviting the band _Soleil_ to Neji and Tenten's wedding. Was everyone getting married now? It was only four months since Kiba got married. There, he had to see Ino since she was Hinata's maid of honour. It was very difficult seeing his ex in such a fetching dress where there were a lot of men vying for her attention.

The phone rang and interrupted his dark thoughts. Shikamaru brushed away all of the papers on his desk with the end of the letter opener before picking up the phone.

"Nara here," he said into the receiver.

_/Shikamaru, it's Naruto/_

"What do you want, Uzumaki?"

_/Well, Neji invited me to his wedding; he called in to ask if you got the invitation. He said he sent it to your office since he wasn't sure if we were in town or not/_

"Yeah, I got it. Do you want me to RSVP for you or something?"

_/Well, I already told him that I was going to go. I was just going to tell you that I'm planning on taking Ino./_

"Why do you think I'll be interested in who you're going to take to a wedding?" responded grouchily.

_/I don't know, because you're our manager and in charge of our publicity?/_ Naruto reasoned.

"Well, I don't care who you take." Shikamaru felt a pain in his hand and realized that he was still holding the letter opener blade. "If that's all you're going to tell me, I got to go."

_/Yeah, see you for practice, then/_ Naruto replied only to hear the dial tone answer.

Shikamaru hung up the phone with a violent clash and eyed his bleeding hand. Blood spilled from his palm and dripped onto his sturdy oak desk. He applied pressure to the wound using the handkerchief he kept in his suit pocket. He fisted his injured hand around the powder blue cloth until it turned a dark violet.

"Damn it." He said before pressing the pager.

_/Yes, sir? /_ His secretary asked him, alert on the other end of the line.

"Get me a towel, antiseptic and gauze, please." He gritted.

_/Right away, Sir/_ was the response.

Shikamaru hid his bleeding hand when his assistant entered and placed the items he had asked for on the table.

"Thanks," he grumbled, "that will be all."

When all prying eyes were gone, he threw the blood stained kerchief into the waste bin and soaked the towel with the antiseptic liquid. He then held his breath for the next step. The pain was great, when he pressed the towel onto his cut, meaning that it was deep. When the wound was cleaned thereafter, he wrapped up his palm with the medical gauze to prevent an infection. Now, his hand felt stiff and the bleeding had ebbed somewhat.

He threw the wet towel and empty bottle of antiseptic into the trash along with the handkerchief after he wiped the blood on his desk with the dry part of the towel.

"Troublesome," he sighed when the whole incident was taken care of. "Stupid, Ino."

XXXX

Ino watched the world pass by outside her window. It was a busy and muggy afternoon in the city. Considering that spring was upon them, she was sure that there would be an increase in sales. Winter was always a hard time of the year for her flowers, but this year, her business was thriving since she was asked to do the flower arrangements for Hinata and Kiba's wedding. Now, since she had the wedding of a high profile Rockstar—er—former Rockstar under her belt, it only made sense that her once quaint, little flower shop, was now transforming into one very popular wedding flowers business. _Yamanaka Flowers_ was now the brand of celeb wedding flowers. And she owed it all to Hinata. And to top it all off, she was able to pay off all her debts and was now a proud owner of a working dishwasher. As a small business owner, made high-profile corporate, life for Ino Yamanaka was at its peak. She now had fifty employees to take up the increased amount of work. It was hard to imagine that the night before Hinata's wedding, she was crying until the wee hours of the morning as she made the centerpieces by hand because she didn't think that she'd finish them all.

The insistently ringing phone broke her away from her daydream.

"Hello, Ino Yamanaka, here" she greeted. "What can I do for you?"

_/Hey, Ino, it's Kiba,/_ the familiar voice replied.

"Oh, hey you, are you taking good care of Hinata?" Ino said playfully. "How was the honeymoon?"

_/Wonderful,/_ Kiba said. _/You should have seen Hinata with the family. It's like she belonged there, one of the family, my family./_

"Well, duh, you did marry her." Ino pointed out the obvious. "So what's up? Do you need anything?"

_/Yeah, but, I have to call in a favour./_ He answered grimly. _/You see, I kind of promised someone a favour and she asked me if I can phone in for an appointment with you./_

"Since you did marry my best friend, and gave me a free VIP pass to Soleil's only tour with its original members, I guess I can give your friend a consultation." Ino explained. "Tell her to come during lunch time today because I'm booked solid until the fall."

_/Thanks a lot, Ino, you're a lifesaver, /_ Kiba felt relieved. _/So, how's the new house?/_

"Gigantic, thank you very much." Ino countered sassily. "And I have yours and Hinata's wedding to thank for that."

_/No, problem, I was eternally happy to take her off your hands,/ _Kiba announced._ /Tenten will be over by noon./ _

"You mean its Tenten coming?" Ino said surprised. "She could have just asked me. She still has my number from when Hinata stayed with me. Since she's Neji's best friend, Neji gave her my contact number in case something happened to Hinata."

_/Well, she must have lost your number./_

"I guess, thanks for the call. And thanks for the potential business. If Tenten's coming to get me to do hers and Neji's wedding, I'll have another high-society wedding to add to my repertoire."

_/No, problem, you deserve it./_ Kiba commented. _/I'll see you next week for the picnic?/_

"Yeah, Hinata did say something about that, but I'm afraid I have a wedding to go to that day. It's a lawyer wedding. So, the contract is "non-negotiable". I had to get my solicitor to read the contract over. No loopholes in that one, so I have my hands tied, sorry. Say 'hi' to the guys for me."

There was a beep that sounded on the line.

"Oh, Kiba, I have another call." Ino explained. "We can catch up later."

_/That'll be fine. Come visit us when you can, Hinata misses you./_ Kiba said before hanging up.

"I'll do that," Ino promised before switching to the other line.

_/Hello, Ino?/_ the voice questioned.

"Oh, Naruto, how have you been?" Ino tried to act cool whilst doing a little giddy, fan girl jig. "What can I do for you?"

_/Well, I don't know if you know yet but Neji, Hinata's cousin is getting married./_

"Yes, I know, I might do the flower arrangements for the wedding."

_/Good for you, Ino! But, well, I just wanted to ask if you want to be my date for the event, I don't really have anyone else to take since Kiba married off Hinata./_ Naruto laughed jokingly.

"Oh, so I'm just the consolation prize, Uzumaki?" Ino retorted, thoroughly insulted.

_/No, I didn't mean it that way, I just meant that for the moment that you're the closest thing I have to a girl friend, and since I don't think you're seeing anyone else, I wanted to ask if I could be your escort./_ Naruto explained.

"Now that's more like it," Ino smiled manically, delirious with joy. "I am honoured to have you as my escort for the wedding, Mr. Uzumaki."

Ino hung up her end of the line at the tone and turned back to her papers. She had a wedding in five hours so she had to leave right after her lunch consultation. She looked over the billings and receipts to check on her orders for the Uchiha wedding. Everything was set.

XXXX

**Three Weeks Later...**

"I think that we should have tall, red and white carnations along the aisles in crystal vases and then we can use pink and white roses for the wedding bouquet." Ino said to her new assistant, Sai. "What do you think?"

"Well, Miss Yamanaka, I think that's a great idea, but what should we do about the centerpieces at the reception?"

"Well, it has to be something pink, that's the bride's motif colour..." Ino thought aloud rubbing her chin. "Did we get in the ipomoeas last week?"

"We still have to order, Miss Yamanaka."

"Crap, how about the peonies?"

"We should still have some in stock." Sai commented and scribbled on his clip board.

"Then that'll be that. We'll use single pink peonies in simple glass, water bowls with pink marble pearls. They'll just float on top. Of course, we'd have to make sure that they don't wilt, but they should last a lot longer than roses if we keep it in the water."

"I'll get it set up with the team." Sai ticked off the box marked centerpieces on his list. "Now, we only have to worry about the picture setting in the garden, the groom's boutonniere, the bridesmaid bouquets, the—"

"Slow down, Sai, you're confusing me." Ino sighed before starting her rant. "Man, I hate short-notice weddings. I'll kill Kiba Inuzuka for this. This is some favour he called in; I still have another wedding to arrange in less than a month. Three weeks isn't enough to arrange everything that Tenten and Neji want. On top of that, they had to get married in Japan, didn't they? Wait a minute, did you get our tickets?"

"We'll do our best to fulfil these tasks, Miss Yamanaka." Sai tried to comfort his employer but failed. "And I did get our tickets."

Sai left the blonde to herself for a moment to make orders and make sure everything goes smoothly for his new boss. Sure, he wasn't the best at understanding other people and their problems, but he did know how to get the job done. That was the only reason why Ino had hired him; he had years of experience in the field. Not in the floral industry, of course, that was Ino's turf, but in cut-throat business. Right now it was his job to make sure that the arrangements for the Hyuga wedding will be completed before the wedding in two weeks.

"Sai," Ino's voice floated to him from her office.

Sai walked to her office and readied his pen for her orders.

"There you are. I need you to go to the sellers today and make sure that the finishing touches on the Yuuhi-Sarutobi wedding are underway. This wedding is tomorrow so we have to make sure that the red-poppy arrangements for the dance floor and the rose centerpieces are ready and in the freezer by this evening. We can't have flowers wilting at an indoor reception. As for, Tenten and Neji's wedding," Ino said without looking up at her assistant, her eyes intent on her computer. "We have to get the arrangements done this week so we can get it delivered to the Hyuga Estate at least four days before the wedding. And call Ayame from Ichiraku's to ask her what size the serving dishes are so we can fit the arrangements on the tables. Wait, the Hyuga wedding has a buffet reception, right?"

"Yes," Sai answered. "I'll contact her."

"Thanks, Sai," Ino said as she typed away at the keyboard. "I'll meet you for lunch at _Giordano's_. I have a lunch meeting with a reporter, we might get a feature in the wedding section of the paper. I want you to be there to take notes. And then after, we can go straight to the sellers and then to the hotel for the last consultations with Kurenai and Asuma."

"Yes, ma'am," Sai left the room.

Ino was arranging another set of orders. It always brought her down when she was left alone to think. It wasn't that she wasn't happy doing her job and taking part in the happiest day of most people's lives. It was just that weddings always made her feel like the loneliest singleton in the world. Although, it wasn't as if she was went unescorted to these events. She always had Sai with her, but his company was as comfortable was having dinner with a mannequin. She couldn't blame it on him, though, he was one of the best in the business. She was lucky enough that he chose to work for her.

Still, sometimes she wondered where the hell her Neji and Kiba were. Where had all the good men gone? Ino was sure that they all had a _persona non grata_ on her. It wasn't fair that that she was the only one left on her own. The other women that she was acquainted with were married. She was turning twenty-seven next year and she had never had a long term boyfriend besides Shikamaru. In high school, lots of guys followed her around and she was considered one of the popular people, but it seems that when she left the fishbowl that was high school, no men were interested in her. When she and Hinata were in middle school together, before the dark-haired woman was struck blind, Hinata had said that she was very pretty and that any guy would be lucky to date her. Was she wrong in waiting for the right guy to walk up to her? Or was it just loneliness talking?

If it had worked out with Shikamaru would she have been glowing with joy with two beautiful kids?

"Stupid Shikamaru." Ino said before working up a storm; Tenten and Neji's short engagement was going to age her another twenty years before it was over.

_

_

_

_

A/N:

Thank you for those who waited for this story to come out. I'm glad that I got it posted by Valentines Day. Please tell me what you think of it so far.


	2. Enter Tabloids

XXXX

Shikamaru was up to his pits in work. He still had to set up a build up for Chouji joining the band. Fans were still a little put off that Kiba had left the band. Fan blogs and reviews stated that Inuzuka had no right to quit the band and that there was a conspiracy making the drummer leave because of his performance in London. It didn't help matters when an angry Kiba called telling him to read an article on _HMH Magazine_. Upon finishing reading the said article, Shikamaru was livid, actually beyond that. The magazine reported that the reason why Kiba had left _Soleil_ was because the drummer had fought with Naruto over Hinata. _HMH Magazine_ also stated that the facts were from a "reliable source". If this pushes through, what the hell was he going to do with Chouji?

Besides, didn't the entire world see Hinata kiss Kiba at Albert Hall? Weren't there 2.4 million people who tuned in to watch it when it became viral not even half an hour after the concert? Was every person who saw that blind? It was obvious that there couldn't have been a love triangle when it was Hinata who kissed Kiba in the first place.

"From a reliable source?" Shikamaru read aloud. "These tabloid magazines are always saying that their little stories are from a 'reliable source'."

He needed to make _HMH Magazine_ retract what was said in the article or else the build up that was planned for Chouji's career was going to have to be put off until this whole love triangle scandal was put to rest.

Shikamaru punched the pager on his desk.

"Get me the number for _HMH Magazine_."

_/Yes, sir,/_ his secretary said over the speaker.

Minutes later she paged back and gave him the number. Shikamaru immediately dialled ready to unleash his vindictive wrath on whoever was on the other end of the line.

_/Hello,/_ A voice answered on the sixth ring. _/HMH Magazine./_

"Am I talking to the editor or the owner?"

_/Just a sec, I'll patch you through./_

Shikamaru waited a good ten minutes on the line before there was a click on the line and a female voice was heard talking in the background.

_/Hey, what do you want?/ _The voice was much clearer now. _/I'm really busy right now, so make it quick./_

"I'm calling regarding an article you wrote on _Soleil_."

_/What about it?/_

"I want you to retract everything in the next issue of this magazine or else I'll sue your ass for everything you're worth. This slanderous article defames my clients and is totally fraudulent in nature. I can't let you make up stories without any basis for any truth. So I want your tabloid magazine to stop writing these fictitious exposes."

_/Nara, yeah I know who you are,/_ the woman on the line retorted menacingly. _/Forget about it. I have proof—all of which are perfectly admissible in court, for your information—of all the stories I publish. So you can stick your lawsuit where the sun don't shine. I run a perfectly respectable business here. And if fans of your minuscule band want to know the truth, then I'm here to give it to them. It's called the freedom of the press. So just let your band take the media's criticism like the big boys they are./_

"Who are you, how do you know me?" Shikamaru still had some fight left in him. "You have no idea who you're playing with here, I can bury you alive."

_/It's you who doesn't know who you're playing with./ _a laugh sounded from the other end. _/I'm Anko Mitarashi, CEO and Founder of HMH Magazine, just so you know. You're on my turf, Nara./_

Saying that the _Soleil_ manager was surprised would have been an understatement.

"What do you mean that you're Anko Mitarashi?" Shikamaru stated. "Mitarashi is the Editor of the _Konoha Press_."

_/I mean exactly what I said./_ Anko snickered. _/Actually, I'm surprised that you know who I am./_

"I have a copy of the _Press_ on my desk" Shikamaru uttered. "How can you write tabloids when you're also writing about the truth in everyday news?"

_/It's called business, Nara. _HMH Magazine_ is my side-line business. So, get out of my pond. You've already wasted most of my time. Although, I am glad that you're a fan of at least one of my papers./_

That said, the tabloid-reporter hung up on a speechless Shikamaru.

Shikamaru didn't know what was going on here, if Anko Mitarashi said she had proof, it meant that there was proof. A head-honcho in the biz would not go walking around without covering her ass. There must be some way that she's getting the information. Shikamaru looked over the list of staff members he had for the band, he was sure that all of them were checked and verified even the cleaning staff was screened before being hired. It didn't make any sense, there has to be a spy in the company. It couldn't have been Kiba and the band members themselves. Even before any of them were famous, each member was a known recluse. Naruto was the only fame-hog, but it didn't help that he was a little claustrophobic, so he had to stay away from crowds.

Shikamaru knew he had to let Anko's case go, but he would be doubly sure to find out who was the rat. Over his dead body was anyone going to one up him in business and wreak havoc on his friends' lives.

XXXX

**At Giordano's**

Ino walked into the restaurant, with Sai in tow, and was greeted by the very nice, and very Italian owner, Arturo Giordano. He immediately led them to the best seat in the place where a reporter was there for an interview.

The reporter stood up and straightened her beige skirt.

"Hello, I'm Anko Mitarashi, it's great to meet you, Miss Yamanaka."

Ino shook the other woman's hand and introduced herself and Sai as her consultant. The threesome sat down and Arturo brought over two cups of coffee and a glass of iced tea.

"Well," Anko said before taking a sip from her mug, "I would just like to say thank you for meeting with me and for taking the time out of your, I'm sure, very busy schedule."

"It was no problem at all, Ms. Mitarashi." Ino took a slow sip from her straw. "I really am glad to be meeting with you."

"Please call me, Anko." The reporter said. "So, shall we get started then?"

"Sure, I'm ready." Ino said demurely before straightening her blouse and leaning forward with rapt attention; focused.

"First question: what makes _Yamanaka Flowers_ so successful?"

"As you might know, _Yamanaka Flowers_ specializes in wedding arrangements, so we've sort of have been synonymised as the wedding florists in town. Also, I'd have to say that _Yamanaka Flowers_ wouldn't be so successful without our excellent staff. I only hire the best, mind you, Ms. Mita—I mean, Anko."

"What do you mean that you hire only the best?"

"Well, we go through a very thorough screening process. I make sure that every employee has vast experience in the industry. And our HR department have certain protocols to follow before an employee is hired. The last step being a meeting with me. But, as the company expands, I think that this last step will become unnecessary. It's a very draining process, but it is definitely worth it in the end if I get people I can trust to uphold _Yamanaka Flower'_s reputation."

Anko had to admit that the blonde wasn't as stupid as she would have thought.

"Question two: doesn't it take its toll on your personal life?"

"What personal-life?" Ino laughed. "Well, I do love what I do. Helping to make sure that couples get the dreamy-romantic wedding they want doesn't seem like work to me. Every design I create brings me so much joy that it becomes very personal to me. I guess that's the extent of my personal life."

Anko smiled politely. The woman before her definitely knew how to re-direct a question.

"Witnessing all these weddings must make you think about having you own, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, of course, it does. Being surrounded by flowers and wedding bouquets and table pieces does that to a person."

"Are you content by yourself?"

"What do you mean?" Ino asked gracefully, although knowing where the reporter was going with the question. "I have a lot of support from my family, friends, and clients."

"I meant to ask if there is a man in your life." Anko got to the point.

"No, no one serious." Ino thought about Naruto and his laid-back attitude. "Just the occasional dating, I guess."

Anko smirked, ready to pounce on her victim. Ino's smiled faltered when she noticed the expression on Anko's face.

"Next question: how did you get Kiba Inuzuka as a client?"

"I beg your pardon?" Ino said, slightly offended.

"It's a fact that _Yamanaka Flowers_ wasn't a contender in the floral-design industry until after the Inuzuka-Hyuga wedding."

"For your information, Hinata is my best friend and we've known each other for years. When she got married to Kiba, they had wanted a small, private wedding. I did the flower arrangements for her as a friend and that's the end of the matter. I don't see how this matters so much."

"Did you ask Mrs. Inuzuka if you can do the floral arrangements for her wedding knowing that it would be detrimental to your success in the industry?"

"I did not!" Ino sputtered. "How could you—"

"Thank you, that's all I need." Anko scribbled down a couple notes. Sai watched silently, a stoic observer. "Last question: there have been reports of you dating Rockstar, Naruto Uzumaki, is there any truth to that?"

Ino's eyes widened in shock the question.

"I won't answer that question!" She stated.

"How come?"

"Aren't you supposed to be asking about my company? My personal life has nothing to do with my business."

"So, is that a yes to dating the front-liner of _Soleil_?"

"I'm leaving," Ino declared. "Let's go, Sai."

Anko laughed manically. "Are you shtuping that guy too?"

"I am not going to sign the press release for this interview, so therefore, according to the law, anything said in this interview can't be used in any newspaper."

"Who said anything about using this for the newspaper?" Anko enjoyed the baffled look on Ino's face.

"Aren't you writing for the _Konoha Press_?"

"No, I'm the editor of the _Konoha Press_, but I'm writing for _HMH Magazine_."

"A _tabloid_?" Ino shrieked. "You lured me here under false pretence, I'll sue you!"

"I did no such thing, I said that I was going to meet you here, I didn't say that I wanted to do a story on you. You probably assumed that. Anything said over coffee and drinks in a public setting, wouldn't be considered an interview at all. I asked a few questions, and you answered willingly. Miss Yamanaka, what we had here was a conversation between acquaintances." Anko stood up from her seat, and pulled on her long trench coat. "It was really nice to meet you, Miss Yamanaka. I hope to see you in the future."

Ino couldn't do anything but watch the woman walk away. She turned to Sai with watery eyes. Sai still kept silent. He tried to comfort his boss by giving her a pat on the shoulder, but it only made it worst. Ino turned and cried on his shoulder. Maybe he should have said something. As Ino's subordinate, he wasn't permitted to say anything, but as her only friend at the moment, maybe he should have.

"I'm sorry, Miss Yamanaka." He said uncomfortably. Women's tears always made him want to run away. Business, he could deal with, but emotions were something foreign to him. "I should have done a background check on her before coming here."

"It's my fault, Sai, I never should have agreed to see her, the witch!" Ino wiped at her face. Luckily, they were tucked away in a cozy corner of the restaurant away from curious eyes. "Let's go, Sai. I'll call my lawyer and see what he can do about damage control. Although, I don't think that the business will be in jeopardy, she only wanted information on my connection to _Soleil_."

XXXX

_

_

_

_

A/N:

This chapter continues the parallelism between both Ino and Shikamaru's lives. I would like to thank all those who read and reviewed. I appreciate all of you. The reviews encourage me to write and to do better. Thanks for your continued support, you know who you are.


	3. Wedding Wars

XXXX

**Neji and Tenten's Wedding Reception**

The centerpieces were perfect, the food: to die for, and there was vast amounts of alcohol available at the small bar. It was a perfect day for a wedding. Clear, blue skies and small puffy clouds filled the sky; not a storm cloud in sight.

Although, Shikamaru didn't notice any of these details. He was aware of Ino's every move in the room. Naruto had brought her in with a sweep of his arm onto the dance floor for the third time. Shikamaru almost visibly seethed at the sight, but opted to turn away. Earlier on, Naruto had made his rounds and guided Ino around like a float on the _Macy's Parade_. And Ino, in her backless, curve-hugging blue gown looked as if she enjoyed every moment of it.

Naruto always had an outrageous charm and being a bit claustrophobic, he needed alcohol to get him through a day with a large crowd. In another hour, after a total of seven glasses of wine and five dances with Ino, Naruto was pissed-drunk. Ino's discomfort was evident on her face, but it was Lee who volunteered to take the rambunctious, drunk blond back to his hotel room and out of her hands. Almost immediately, Ino was swamped with male attention, it was like in college all over again. Luckily, or unluckily for some, Sai then led the blonde florist away, back to her seat. Ino looked visibly relieved. She tucked Sai's arm between her arm and side. The two of them sat and talked with other guests.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Shikamaru looked up to see Sakura in a pale-green dress that matched her eyes. Her model body was encased in the sheathe-like dress in a way that showed off her lithe figure. She proceeded to sit beside him.

"I saw you glaring at Ino Yamanaka," she said. "Personally, I didn't think that the centerpieces were that bad."

"No, it's not that." He grimaced at the joke.

"What is it, then?" Sakura urged. "You can tell me, I may be a model, but I'm not as stupid as you might think."

"It's kind of personal. I don't think that I want to share it with a stranger." Shikamaru eyed the pink-haired model sceptically.

"I guess you're right."

"Why didn't you go with Lee?" Shikamaru remembered that Sakura was Lee's date. "He left with Naruto half an hour ago."

"Well, Lee asked Shino to drive me home, so I can stay longer."

"Do you like him; Lee, I mean?"

"Now, look whose getting personal," Sakura voiced. "But, yeah, I like him enough, but, I can never take him seriously."

"That's kind of ironic considering that you're a model." Shikamaru smiled.

"What do you mean?" Sakura flipped back her hair.

"Aren't model's not taken seriously because of their occupation?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"I think that Lee really likes you."

"Does he now?" Sakura laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" Shikamaru sounded confused.

"It's just a little hard to believe that Lee can even feel something that deeply. He's a really nice guy, don't get me wrong, but he's...immature." Sakura explained.

XXXX

"Look at her," Ino grumbled as she watched Shikamaru talking to a pink-haired model. "Getting her slimy paws all over him."

Sai sighed. He hated weddings; receptions in general. But, what he hated the most was the talk of baby's breath and flower arranging. And he had just endured almost two hours of flower tips. Now, his boss was jealous over a model that, in his opinion, wasn't even that good looking.

If he had to hear another word from Ino today, Sai was sure that he was going to quit. Sure, Ino was paying him a lot, six figures, but it wouldn't be enough if he had to hear her talk about that model one more time or if he had to listen to her go on and on about the peony arrangements on the tables. Who cared if the blasted flowers lasted a lot longer in water than in a vase? He sure didn't.

"How did she become a model anyway? Her face is disproportioned, look at her forehead it's huge. At least the peony on the table matches her hair."

"Please excuse me," Sai got up to leave.

"Where are you going, Sai?"

"I'm going on vacation right now." He stated monotonously. "I'll see you in two weeks, if I don't call you."

"You can't leave, we have a wedding next week. And you're a consultant." Ino tugged at his shirtsleeve. "I can't let you go on vacation without proper notice."

"Then, I'll just have to quit, Miss Yamanaka." Sai left, smiling to himself, as he left for his rental car. He did it. He was free.

Ino was shocked to say the least. Sai couldn't quit on her, he was the best. He was the only one who can organize a schedule and planning module with just one consultation with a client. He was her trump card.

Ino grabbed her purse and ran to catch up to her assistant. By the time she got to him, he was already in the car ready to drive off.

"Please reconsider, Sai. I can't lose you. I need you!" Ino begged. "Please stay."

"Our relationship has already been strained as it is. I need some time to make decisions. You've been very nice to me, so I hope that I'll see you again." Sai said before he left the Hyuga Estate in a cloud of dust.

Ino belatedly realized that Sai was her only ride to the hotel. Naruto was already back at the hotel and Kiba had taken Hinata back early to his family's house. The Hyuga home was already full of family members and there wasn't any rooms available anyway. And everyone she knew was leaving on the evening or early morning flight back home. Thus leaving her stranded in Japan all by herself. She couldn't call a cab because the Estate was so secluded from the rest of the town.

"Lose another one, Ino?" Shikamaru's voice sounded from the shadows behind her, brutally snapping her from her reverie.

Seeing Sai leave with Ino running after him had stirred his interest and so curiosity got him to follow the couple. He had heard their argument, and it brought him great satisfaction.

"What are you doing here?" Ino turned an accusing glare at the _Soleil_ manager.

"Well, after I saw you running after that guy, I thought that I should be present just in case you attack him. I could back him up and be a witness just in case he wanted to sue you." Shikamaru relished his little revenge with the blonde. "Lucky for him he got in the car before you bit his head off."

"Still an ambulance chaser, I see." Ino retorted coolly. "Would you have charged me for 'harassment' or 'assault and battery'?" she added, oozing with sarcasm.

"Maybe both." He smirked. "Or maybe I could have just—"

"Well, I'm sorry that I took you away from your pink-haired model." Ino interrupted before brushing past Shikamaru.

"She's not my 'model'," he grabbed her arm.

"Oh, so she's not sleeping with you, God bless her soul!" Ino broke away from him, piqued. "It must be because your heart's frozen solid. Maybe you should leave it out to thaw sometimes."

"I see that you're still a vain, immature, venomous snake, Ino." Shikamaru said gritting his teeth in anger. "How do you sleep at night when the whole world clearly revolves around you?"

"I sleep just fine," Ino willed herself not to cry at Shikamaru's comment. "But, I see that you're still the same slime ball, bastard, huh Shikamaru?"

"Yeah, it works wonders when you don't want shallow, self-centered bimbo blondes yapping about flowers at you all day." Shikamaru sneered. "That's why he left, right?"

"I just hope she doesn't waste as much time as I did on you. Or else she won't get anywhere." The enflamed blonde spat. "Just go back to your cotton-candy haired forehead model, and stay the hell out of my life!"

"Gladly, I just hope you're happy being alone the rest of your life, because no man would be crazy enough to want to spend the rest of their life tied to an insecure, shallow compliment seeker." Shikamaru turned his back and left the way he came. "There aren't enough men in the world to keep your ego satisfied."

"Go hide behind your job and your accomplishments, Shikamaru, because that's all you'll ever have. A cold-hearted bastard will always be empty and alone!" Ino yelled after him.

"Are you talking from experience?" Shikamaru tossed back.

XXXX

Ino ran to the toilette, locked herself into a stall and cried until her breath wheezed weakly from her chest. Mascara ran down her face in a liquid mess only enhanced when she tried to dab it away with her finger tips and single-ply tissue paper.

How could she let Shikamaru do this to her? Why does he know exactly what to say to hurt her? She wiped at the snot at her nose. She was sure that her eyes were now a black puffy mess. Ino couldn't seem to stop her tears. It hurt to breathe; it hurt to hear his opinion of her when he was the one who had once loved her like she wanted to be loved. It was safe to say that the Shikamaru she knew and loved were gone. Bitter tears dripped from her eyes and onto the washroom's pristine, white floors.

An hour later, when she couldn't squeeze another tear from her eyes, Ino exited her temporary haven to check the damage to her face. Her inner vanity cringed at the reflection in the mirror. There was black grunge crusting around her eyes and a very unattractive smear of lipstick on her upper lip turned to pink-tinged mucus. Her makeup was a mess to say the least, but that wasn't her only trouble. Looking down her dress, Ino noticed black smudges and goo had stuck to her dress along with eraser shaving sized bits of tissue. The _Vera Wang_ dress was certainly ruined. She wanted to disappear into a cave and never return. Instead she gave a watery laugh at the pathetic woman she saw before her. The bitter laugh turned into a full cackle. Ino laughed hysterically while new tears spilled from her eyes.

XXXX

Shikamaru was ready to go home. He'd endured another hour of the wretched party in a foul mood. He wanted to strangle Ino for her words. No one had ever said what she said to him. And he was disgusted at himself for caring about what she said.

The party was wrapping up and many guests were starting to leave. The bride and groom had left moments ago. Sakura had left with Shino at about the same time. Chouji then came up to Shikamaru.

Chouji held up a cell phone to the manager. "Do you know a Miss Yamanaka?"

"Why?" Shikamaru said roughly.

"This is her phone and it's been ringing on and off for almost an hour." Chouji answered. "I checked the voicemail to find out who owned the phone and there was a message from this guy named Sai he said that—how about just listen to it."

Chouji pressed a few buttons on the cell phone and a male voice came on the line.

_/Miss Yamanaka, it's Sai, I know that I left you there all by yourself at the wedding, and as I neared our hotel, I realized that I left you stranded there at the Hyuga Estate. I hope you find a ride back to the city. I'll be leaving on the five o'clock flight, so I won't be able to go back to get you. Maybe you can get one of your friends to drive you back. Again, I apologize for leaving you./_

"See, and I tried to give it to the coat-check guy, but he said that this Miss Yamanaka person hadn't retrieved her items yet." Chouji explained. "I asked him if he can put the phone with her other possessions, but he said he needed the key-card to open her locker. I've been asking around if anyone knew where she was. But no one seems to have seen her in a while. Then Shino and Sakura told me that you knew her, so I thought that I should ask."

"Thanks Chouji, I'll take it. You can go back to the hotel." Worry etched on his face. "I'll go find her."

"Thanks Shikamaru, I was starting to get hungry. I can't wait to order room service!" Chouji said. "We're allowed to order room service, right?"

"Yeah, go ahead." Shikamaru said absently, wondering where Ino could have gotten to.

XXXX

**One Hour Later...**

Ino had walked for four miles in her heels. If Sai hadn't quit, she was sure that she would have fired him anyway. And she didn't realize that she left her phone on the table until she was already one mile out. She didn't want to walk all the way back. Now, she couldn't call for a cab. Maybe, she shouldn't have let her vanity get the best of her. If she had swallowed her pride and asked for a ride to the city, it wouldn't have been like this. But, _no_, she was more worried of what people would think if they saw her slaughtered dress and unpainted face. Shikamaru was right, she was vain. Her feet were blistered and bloodied, and her heels were on its last life.

"I can't believe that there's no one who passed me in the last hour." Ino grumbled.

To her left was a large field and to her right a forest, neither of them looked like it was near civilization. The Hyuga Estate was hundreds of acres, how was she going to get out of this one.

"I need to rest." Ino huffed before parking her butt on the side of the road. "Then I'll go back."

Her break turned from ten minutes to twenty, then twenty to thirty until she fell asleep.

XXXX

* * *

A/N:

Thank you for those who read and reviewed thus far. I am really enjoying writing this story, so, I hope that you enjoy reading it as well. I know that this chapter has a little more drama compaired to other receptions, but I assure you that this will not be the end of Ino and Shikamaru...I hope. Stay tuned and please review.


	4. There was No Tomorrow

Shikamaru waited until every guest left. And not one of them was Ino. He even had an attendant check if she was in the restroom, but the attendant said that there was no one left in the washrooms. He was starting to worry. What had happened to Ino? He waited another forty minutes and when she didn't show, he decided to go home himself, and the Hyuga staff were starting to give him odd looks for sticking around.

He took one last trip to the coat check room to see if Ino had picked up her stuff, but when he got there, the checker handed him Ino's possessions and left.

The _Soleil_ manager ran out to the parking lot, where his car was the only one left. It was getting dark, maybe Ino had left with someone else, one of her friends, maybe. And he was the fool that worried for nothing.

"Yeah, she's probably out at the hotel swimming pool just realizing that she forgot her stuff." Shikamaru said to himself. "I'm an idiot. I missed my flight for this."

He backed out of his spot and turned on his headlights, it was getting dark. He drove for ten minutes when a deer jumped out from the forest to his right. He braked suddenly and skidded to avoid the creature all the while hitting a very large boulder on the side of the road. Shikamaru got out of his car and assessed the damage. But something metal seemed to have snapped off. The car had skidded to the ditch at the side of the road, the back axel of the car was bent and the tire had flown off. Shikamaru kicked the front bumper of the car in frustration and silently cursed Ino.

"Oh thank God, you stopped!" A flash of blue came from Shikamaru's side and he felt spindly arms wrap around his waist. "I thought that no one else was coming."

"Ino," he stated.

"Shikamaru?" She quickly withdrew her arms as if she was burned. "What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious, my car crashed." Shikamaru tried to hide his relief at seeing her safe. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing," Ino said grouchily. "Mind your own business."

Shikamaru and Ino were locked in glaring contest until Shikamaru noticed the goose pimples on Ino's arms.

"You're cold," He said. "Get in the car."

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"I'm just trying to help you out."

"You can help me out by going away."

"I can't leave, the tire's gone." Shikamaru pointed out. "If you want me I'll be in the car."

"Fine," Ino snapped.

"Fine." He said before getting in the back seat of the car. He dialled for the directory and called for a tow truck. When the guy found out how far he was from the city, he said that they wouldn't get there for a while yet. Shikamaru offered to pay extra if the tow got there as soon as possible. The guy agreed.

Shikamaru decided that he should at least get some sleep while he waited. He took off his jacket and cover himself with it. But, of course, he couldn't sleep while Ino was out there in the cold so he got back out.

"The tow truck's coming in about an hour. If you want to stay out here and freeze your skinny ass off, that's fine with me, but you can wait in the car."

Ino got up from her spot on the ground and ambled to the car. Shikamaru watched her obvious limp and saw her bloody feet when she lifted her skirt to get into the passenger side door.

"What happened to your feet?"

"Nothing," she said.

"It's bleeding."

"I said, it's nothing!" she voiced as she slammed the door.

Shikamaru got into the back seat again and lay out across the width of the car. He feigned sleep and watched Ino under semi-lidded eyes. The growing darkness allowed him to watch her without her notice.

Ino turned in her seat and watched Shikamaru sleep. When he was asleep like that, it wasn't so hard to remember why she'd fallen for him all those years ago. She sighed and leaned forward trying to get a better view of her saviour.

Shikamaru moved his arm to cover his eyes, Ino was too close. It was hard to pretend to sleep when she was so close.

She started to hum a tune. It was the song that they'd chosen to be their wedding song when they were still engaged. Ino took a deep breath and sang hauntingly as Shikamaru had no choice but to listen listened.

_Love me as though there were no tomorrow_

_Take me out of this world tonight_

_Take me, make me forget my sorrow_

_So when I wake, tomorrow_

_I'll know our love was right_

For Shikamaru, it brought back the memory of when he first heard it. It was at a bookstore near his college, he was going to buy a textbook he need for his business course. At first when he heard the crisp voice of the man singing it, he immediately fought to ignore it as he waited at the checkout line. It was one of those oldies songs that his grandfather probably listened to.

He distinctly remembered that later that night was the night when Ino finally agreed to go out with him. He'd been so nervous that time. He babbled about business and law while she listened patiently. She didn't love him yet, and he was starting to think that maybe they had nothing in common after all. And then the song played again at the restaurant and Ino had said that the lyrics were romantic, he'd agreed and told her that he'd heard the song earlier that day. From there, the date had become significantly relaxed and they were able to find some common ground. If it weren't for that song, he was sure that Ino wouldn't have agreed to a second date.

_Kiss me as though it were now or never_

_Teach me all that a heart should know_

_Love me as though there were no tomorrow_

_Oh my darling, love me, don't ever let me go_

Ino finished and watched the eerie darkness outside her window. She wondered if Shikamaru even remembered the song, but highly doubted it; he was a guy after all. When that song came on, on their first date, she knew it was what saved the date. Shikamaru wouldn't have asked her out for another date if it weren't for that song.

She turned back to take one more glance at a sleeping Shikamaru, but instead saw that he was sitting upright, no longer lying down, as he watched her.

"What are you staring at, Nara?" she asked him rudely.

"Why did you sing that song?" he answered her question with one of his own.

"I like that song; do you have a problem with that?"

"It was going to be our wedding song." Shikamaru decided to cut through the BS. "And I know that you remember."

"Since when did you become a mind-reader, Shikamaru?"

"It's the truth, Ino." He gave her a hard look telling her that he wasn't going to play games with her anymore. "Just admit it."

"Fine, you're right, but it was just a sentimental memory. The bad memories still outweighed any good that came from our relationship." Ino huffed, crossing her arms.

Shikamaru laughed at her defeated expression.

"Don't laugh at me. You have no right to laugh at me!" Ino shrieked. "Stop it!"

Shikamaru didn't stop. He was sure that he'd gone crazy and Ino was the one who made him crazy.

Ino opened her door and got out of the vehicle to escape him. For the second time that night, she slammed the door as hard as she could, hoping that it would fall off.

Shikamaru got out of the car and followed her.

"Why do you think we didn't work out?" he asked her, honestly wanting to know the reason.

"It's because you're an arrogant, pompous know-it-all." Ino answered angrily.

"But, from the very beginning, when you first met me, you already knew I was an 'arrogant, pompous know-it-all'. What made you leave?" Ino saw the pain reflected in his eyes and had to look away. It was like a piercing light in the darkness.

"It was because you stopped loving me." She challenged him. "You didn't care anymore."

"I'd always cared, Ino." He stated. "And I loved you."

"Then why do you think it didn't work out between us?" Ino turned away from him, suddenly feeling very cold.

Shikamaru pulled his jacket from the back seat and draped it over her.

"I think it was because you left too soon." He shrugged.

"How is that possible? We had that huge blow out and everything. You said you hated me and didn't know why you fell in love with me in the first place." Ino pulled the jacket tighter around herself. She smelled his masculine scent surround her. Shikamaru stepped back, afraid to touch her. "It sounded pretty final to me. How could you blame me for leaving then?"

"Because, I really believed we were going to make it." He sighed at his admission.

"Then why didn't you come after me?" Ino sobbed softly. "You could've told me then."

"Because I was scared that you found someone else." He hated sharing feelings, but felt that Ino deserved to know his reasons.

"That's stupid!" She turned to him, tears falling off her chin. "How can there be anyone else?"

"I don't know—I mean, look at you, Ino and then take a good look at me!" Shikamaru said with ire. "I'm not like you."

"What do you mean?"

"I meant that I'm not good looking. I'm not a pretty boy who can get any woman he wanted. Just look at how long it took me to get you to agree to go out with me. I bet that you only agreed because you felt sorry for me." Shikamaru argued.

"So what?" Ino asked. "I spent four-years of my life with you. I didn't so as much as look at another man."

"Ino..."

"I was happy that you weren't a pretty boy. That's the only way I could make sure that there wouldn't be anyone else." She admitted, giving him a weak smile. "But, honestly, Shikamaru, why are we going over this again? Wasn't one time, one mistake, one heartbreak enough?"

Shikamaru gave her a once over. His eyes roamed over the blonde hair on her head, her blue, blue eyes, the bow of her quivering lips, her shaky chin, her long neck, her lithe, curvy form, the bend of her ankles, and her blistered feet. He brought his gaze back to her hopeful eyes.

"No," he heard himself say. "Once isn't nearly enough."

He took her into his arms and held her head to his chest as he inhaled her scent. She cried into his chest. Her tears immediately soaked his shirt.

"I tried everything to forget. I tried to let go." She murmured into his shirt. "And I did, I was able to let go and move on. But then I saw you again, just once, and everything came back."

She grasped his shirt in her fists and sobbed loudly. He pulled her as close as he could. She fit against him perfectly. What was it about her that made him want to give up to his own inhumanity just to hold her? He didn't need to kiss her, he didn't need to have sex with her, he just needed her there and that was enough.

"I still love you, Ino." Shikamaru's mouth moved over her hair.

"I wished that it didn't hurt so much." Ino whispered.

"We both got hurt." He confirmed.

A bright light came over the two of them and caused them to squint at the light source.

"Someone called for a tow?" the driver announced.

"Yeah, that' was me." Shikamaru pulled away from Ino but still held her hand.

The man then worked to hitch Shikamaru's car to the tow truck. Then they all got into the small cab of the truck.

Luckily, it didn't take too long before the couple got back to their hotel. Shikamaru brought Ino to her room before retiring to his own room. He wondered if he could fall asleep. He didn't want the night to end just yet. But once his head hit the pillow he fell into a deep sleep.

XXXX

It Ino couldn't sleep. Was it too good to be true? That Shikamaru still loved her after all these years? It happened too fast, like in a movie. Could she just forget everything he said because he said he loved her? Or was she the biggest romantic sap in the world? She needed to think. Anything related to Shikamaru was dangerous, and dangerous things had to be thought about and planned for. This was because she wasn't sure if she'd survive a second mistake. Maybe Shikamaru could, but once was really enough for her. Thinking about the nights she spent crying herself to sleep and how his words mattered to her scared her.

She tossed and turned in her bed, unable to sleep, until she decided that nothing can be done about it. So, she finally got up at around two in the morning and packed up all her stuff. She dressed in comfortable jeans and a loose shirt and called the airline to ask if she could bump up her flight to that morning. After half an hour of waiting, there was a flight available at seven in the morning. She'd be on that plane, even if it killed her. Ino did what she was good at, she walked away.

XXXX

The next morning, Shikamaru knocked on Ino's door, hoping to take her out to an early lunch or a late breakfast. His flight was late that night anyway, so he thought that he could probably take Ino out before then. When there was no response he went down to the concierge to ask where Miss Yamanaka had gone out for breakfast only to find out that she had taken an early flight and had checked out of the hotel. Shikamaru was momentarily confused.

"Are you sure that she checked out?" He asked the concierge at the front desk.

"Yes, Sir, it says right here that she checked out at 3:37 this morning." The man pointed to his computer screen at the time and room number.

"Did she leave a note, or contact number? Anything?" Shikamaru asked the older employee.

"No, Sir, she only left this morning with her luggage and asked for a car to the airport." The man replied. "Will that be all, sir?"

"Yes, thank you." Shikamaru turned away.

Had he misinterpreted Ino last night? He thought that he was clear that he wanted to get back together. Did this mean that she didn't want to be with him? Well, if that were the case, she could have done the civilized thing and told him in person and not left him wondering halfway around the world.

Shikamaru called the airline and demanded to be put on an earlier flight. He was going to get to the bottom of this even if it killed him. Who did Ino think she was to do this to him? What right did she have to play with what little emotions he had left? This was the last time he was going to fall for damsel-in-distress act.

"She probably only wanted a ride back to the hotel." He said in realization.

Shikamaru packed his bag and left for the airport. It didn't take long before he was on a flight home. This game with Ino was going to end very soon, and he was sure that he would be the victor.

XXXX

* * *

A/N:

Thank you for those who reviewed for the previous chapters. It really inspired me to post this chapter sooner. The song that Ino sings in this chapter is called: _Love me as though there were no Tomorrow_ popularized by: Nat King Cole. I thought that this was a song that fit with their situation. Again, I would like to thank those who read and reviewed, I really enjoyed reading them.


	5. Four Years

**Four Years Ago**

Ino walked back and forth across the dingy, studio apartment carrying boxes of junk. She had just finished cleaning the walls, but they were still water damaged. The floor was creaky and the room smelled of dust and cleaning solutions. This was now their home as of eight months ago. Actually, it was the only thing that she and Shikamaru could afford considering that they were full-time students. Old man Jiraya was nice enough to let the two of them board for almost nothing if she and Shikamaru helped him renovate the entire building. There were five rooms on each floor and a total of three floors. Shikamaru being extremely frugal had seen no problem with the arrangement. So far, in their four-year relationship, there wasn't a lot that she and Shikamaru had disagreed on. Moving into the dilapidated building was probably one of the big things they had argued about. That and his late-night study sessions at school.

Ino, being a business major, had thought that her study hours were brutal, but ever since she had become Shikamaru's girlfriend, and then later on his fiancée, she had realized how much more extensive his schedule was. He had early classes at school for which he was always late for, meetings during lunchtime he complained as being "a drag", a part-time job at the law firm down the street as a paralegal, and then when he got home he'd help her and Jiraya pull out the rusty kitchen sinks in the main-floor rooms. Ino had always known that Shikamaru worked hard when it came to his career, but she wondered if one day his job would become more important to him than her.

"Don't be stupid," she told herself. "Shikamaru will always be there."

Ino had gone shopping in the morning in between classes, and had toted the lot of the groceries back to the apartment on her own. Shikamaru wouldn't take care of himself so she always had to, before she knew him, Shikamaru had told her that he had lived off of instant noodles and did his laundry only when he ran out of clean clothes to wear. Ino went to check up on dinner. Today was Wednesday, so it meant that Shikamaru was going to be home early. Even though, she had marketing and statistics homework, and a couple exams the following afternoon, she wasn't going to waste the time she had with her fiancé. She couldn't wait until the summer break so the both of them can go back to Japan. She can finally get Shikamaru to meet her family and Hinata; it would certainly make their engagement official. In the previous years, neither of them had the money to fly back to their homeland to visit family, it was only recently that they had saved up enough cash to fly home and meet each other's family.

The phone rang in the kitchen, so Ino made a dash for it. It was probably Shikamaru. Ino grabbed the receiver and flopped down on the couch.

"Shikamaru, when are you coming home?" She said into the phone.

_/Hey, Ino, it's me, Shikamaru,/_ he said, probably from a payphone judging from the background noise_. /I'm sorry, but something came up at work. I'll have to stay late./_

"Okay," Ino blinked back tears. "Well, dinner's going to be in the oven. I have some cleaning up to do."

_/I'm really sorry, Ino./_ Shikamaru's voice was mostly drowned out by the traffic behind him. _/Are you sure, you're okay?/_

"Yeah, just go already. I'll be fine, I can probably start my paper or something." Ino said trying to sound nonchalant. "Besides, I'm used to having you come home late. I understand how stressful it's been for you."

_/Thanks, Ino, I'll make it up to you. I promise./ _Shikamaru rambled on._ /Don't forget to lock the door before you go to bed. I have my keys./_

"Okay, just come home safe." Ino hung up the phone and proceeded to shut off the oven and placed the small platter of baked salmon on the stove.

She didn't even have enough time to walk a foot away from the oven to put the phone back on its cradle when the phone rang again.

_/Hey, Ino, it's Asuma. I'm sorry, I know it's your day off, but can you come in for work tonight? We're short on waitresses./_

"That's fine," Ino agreed. "I'll be there in half an hour."

_/Thanks, Ino, you're a life saver!/_ Asuma sighed in relief.

"Don't worry about it." Ino said before grabbing her coat and uniform.

XXXX

This was the first time Shikamaru had lied to Ino.

"So, Shikamaru, did Ino buy it?" his co-worker asked him.

"Yeah," he wondered how he had pulled it off. Ino was one to complain insistently until she got her way.

"Come on, we have to go, or else the shop will close before we get there!"

Temari, his fellow classmate and paralegal grabbed his arm and pulled him towards her car.

Shikamaru only nodded mutely. He was getting a bad feeling about this, but maybe it was only because he'd been so nervous and stressed lately. It was great that he had Temari to help him out at a time like this. But, Ino's voice on the phone just now sounded so mechanical. Was Ino trying to tell him something? Did that mean she didn't care what he did? Was she _trying_ to get rid of him?

"Don't just stand there looking like an idiot, hurry up." Temari had to push him into the passenger door before taking her place in the driver seat.

Temari was a lot different from Ino. For example, she was intimidating just as Ino was flirty and bubbly. Temari didn't sing to the songs on the radio like Ino does, in fact Temari listened to talk radio so there weren't any music at all. And Temari was practicality at its finest. She only did what would logically be the best thing to do in a given situation. Ino was all heart: when she was angry she became violent; when she was happy it'd be contagious. Being a man that ran on logic and practicality, it only made sense that he was going to do what he was going to do. There was no need to be afraid. He was doing the right thing.

"I'm doing the right thing." Shikamaru whispered.

"Of course you're doing the right thing." Temari placed a hand on his shoulder. "Once Ino finds out what we've been planning, it'll all be over."

Shikamaru nodded. Everything would be over, his stress, nerves and guilt will be alleviated.

Ten minutes later, Temari had parked in front of Konoha's only jewellery store.

"Let's go pick out a ring, and then you can tell Ino." Temari got out of the car.

Shikamaru took a moment to catch his breath. Was he doing the right thing? Did he make the right decision?

XXXX

Ino entered Asuma's restaurant, _Red Poppy_, into the busy dinner rush. She proceeded to her locker and put on her white blouse over a black tank top. She knotted on a poppy-red half-apron around her waist and proceeded to the tables. She pocketed a pad and pen and clocked in her shift. She went to a table to take orders.

"Hello, I am Ino and I will be your server for the evening," she started. "Are you ready to order, sir?" she said turning to a dark-eyed man.

"I'm waiting for someone." He said irritably. "She's late again."

"Well, in that case sir, I'll give you a moment."

"Can you get me a glass of water, please?" He said.

"Of course, Sir," Ino went back to the kitchen to fetch ice in a simple glass cup and a water bottle.

She left the gentleman alone and served another table. She kept glancing back at the young man who still waited for his dinner guest to arrive.

When a full hour passed without his expected guest, Ino came back to the man.

"Would you like to order now, Sir?" she asked him.

He lifted his gaze to meet hers.

"Why do women do this to men?" he asked her.

"I don't understand..." Ino trailed off.

"Why do you get a guy's hopes up only to disappoint them?" He said bitterly. "Do women get a thrill from being chased?"

"I think that women get a thrill from being wanted and loved." Ino replied; the man before her nodded to acknowledge her answer. "Are you ready to order, Sir?"

The man combed his fingers through thick, silver hair. It must have been dyed or genetic, Ino thought.

"I'll get the steak, medium rare." He sighed. "Do you have something a little stronger?"

He tilted his empty cup. Ino offered the man wine to which he agreed to.

Ino went about her usual business taking orders, brining food and drinks to the table, tabulating the bill, and bringing back the change. Oh, and don't forget counting her tip. In another hour, the man had paid the bill and left without a word.

Ino felt bad for him. She wouldn't stand up Shikamaru like that.

She went back to work and at the end of her shift at nine o'clock, she had a hundred and eighteen dollars and fifty-three cents in tips after serving eight super-rich customers. It wasn't her biggest haul, but it would make it enough to pay the rent next month. She took off her apron and stuffed it back into her locker and pulled on her purse. Ino then gripped the tiny can of pepper spray in her hand; she was now ready for the walk home. So far, she'd only had to use the spray once before, and it was by accident involving an angry, frustrated, lost tourist who didn't know how to speak English, but Shikamaru told her that she had to have at least one line of protection while walking home.

When Ino exited the restaurant, she saw Asuma talking with the silver-haired man that was in the restaurant.

"See ya, boss!" Ino waved goodbye to Asuma. "You owe me!"

The man beside Asuma lifted his head and smiled a bashful half smile. It reminded Ino of Shikamaru's smile when he was learning words in Latin and she had tried her hand at it and failed miserably. _"The term is _quid pro quo_ not '_squid pork-o'."Shikamaru had told her one time.

"My break's over." Asuma said before throwing his cigarette on the concrete ground and crushing the butt with his heel. He waved his goodbye. "I'll give you a paid day off, Ino." Asuma said as he walked away. "Kakashi, see you around."

That left Ino alone with the stranger. She released her hold on the pepper spray to shake hands with the man.

"Hello, I'm Kakashi Hatake."

"Ino Yamanaka," Ino replied. "I'm really sorry about your date, Mr. Hatake."

"Don't worry about it, the woman I love is next to unattainable. I really had hoped that she would show up this time." Kakashi smiled pitifully. "This isn't the first time she's left me hanging."

"I'm sorry." Ino said empathetically. "If my fiancé stood me up he knows what's coming to him."

"But what you said earlier." Kakashi segued, "About how all that women want is to be loved, is that really true?"

"I guess it really depends, there are some women who want financial security and protection. But, I think that even the woman who has everything would still want to be loved, deep down." Ino explained. "I mean, Shikamaru and I are dirt poor. We're both accumulating debt from tuition fees and we live in a dump. But, I really think that we'll make it. Maybe it'll be hard for another two years or so, but as long as he loves me, we'll make it."

Kakashi nodded in understanding.

"Thank you, Miss Yamanaka." He said. "Here I thought I was doing something wrong."

"Well, believe it or not, women don't like men who are too overprotective either. I just think that men like that become controlling, obsessed psychopaths." Ino supplied. "Are you a controlling, obsessed psychopath, Mr. Hatake?"

"I don't think so, but I'd say that I'm persistent." Kakashi smiled. "Can I escort you home, Miss Yamanaka?"

"Well, since you are Asuma's friend, I guess I can trust you." Ino reasoned. "But if you try anything, I'll get my fiancée to beat the crap out of you, okay?"

"Okay," He agreed. "That's the Shikamaru guy, right?"

"Yeah, and he knows he's lucky to have me." Ino announced confidently.

Kakashi shortened his steps to match Ino's and the two walked down the main street heading south of the _Red Poppy_ towards the dumpy, shady side of town. Kakashi started to wonder what kind of man would let a woman like Ino walk home by herself.

"Why didn't anyone pick you up?" he asked Ino.

"Oh, Shikamaru's a pretty busy person. He's studying to become a lawyer, and he has to study a lot. But, right now he's working late, which is just as good, so we can pay next months' rent on time; although, Old Man Jiraya's usually cool about the rent being late."

"How old are you anyway?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm twenty-one, Shikamaru and I will be turning twenty-two this year." Ino replied, "How about you?"

"I'm twenty-nine turning thirty this year." Kakashi replied. "You and Shikamaru are still kids and you're already engaged?"

"Well, he's just as good as any guy, right? And besides he loves me just the way I am." Ino laughed. "Don't let my beauty fool you, I can be a little hard to handle a lot of the times, and Shikamaru is the only one who doesn't care that I'm sometimes vain and self-centered and egotistical. And that's a stretch for him because he's one of the laziest person I know."

"A lazy lawyer?" Kakashi quipped. "I don't think I've come across one."

"Yeah, but it's mainly because he's super smart. He studies a lot only because he sleeps during class. But when it comes to work and things that matters to him, he's next to impossible to beat." Ino kicked a rock with the side of her shoe.

"You're a lucky woman then?"

"Don't I know it." Ino affirmed. "Now, Mr. Hatake, tell me about your girl."

XXXXX

Shikamaru's eyes swept over all the pieces of expensive jewellery. His eyes bugged out at the price tags of some and nearly had a conniption at seeing the others. He was beginning to think that he maybe he was doing the wrong thing. Maybe he was just confused. Every guy knew that diamonds were a girl's best friend, but who's to say that they won't ask for more if they receive one? Shikamaru browsed and looked and checked the price before even considering purchasing the item. Meanwhile, Temari had already picked out a fourteen-karat tennis bracelet and a silver pendant.

"So, did you find anything?" Temari asked him. "We could ask someone to help choose. So far, you didn't like the ones that I chose."

"Too expensive," Shikamaru shook his head.

"Hello, Sir, and Madam," a man in a green three-piece suit and an impeccably neat bowl-shaped hair cut interrupted the twosome's argument. "My name is Maito Gai, and I think that I may be able to help you."

"Well, he's looking for a ring for his fiancée." Temari said pointing a finger at Shikamaru. "But he doesn't want to spend the money."

"Well, Sir," Maito Gai turned to Shikamaru. "We do have some deals on used or discontinued-branded rings in the back. You look like a hard-working man, and I know that we can find something for you. Please come with me."

The man in the frog-green suit led the paralegal pair to the back storage room. He showed them one display case of discontinued diamond ring brands and another of old antique heirloom rings that needed a few pieces to be replaced and polished.

"I will need to know what you're budget is so that I may find a suitable priced ring for you, Sir." Gai announced.

Shikamaru grumbled a price.

"I'm sorry I didn't hear that, Sir."

"I said, five-hundred." Shikamaru said embarrassed.

Gai's face fell at the less-than-modest amount. Temari saw Shikamaru's embarrassed expression as well as Gai's small slip.

"He has a thousand dollars." She said.

"I can't afford that, Temari!" Shikamaru said shocked.

"I'll loan you the money. I'll give you ten years to pay it all back to me before I start adding interest, is that all right?"

"Damn it, Temari, I don't need your help. I can buy my fiancée's wedding ring. I'll probably just have to save up a few more months." Temari was practically giving him the money. His pride couldn't take it.

"Yeah and by then, she'll be long gone with a rich well-to-do pretty boy, and you'll be sulking like a sore loser. Just take the money, buy a ring and make her happy." Temari simpered. "The longer she doesn't have that ring on her finger, it'll be easier for her to move on to another guy.

"We're already engaged, she knows that." Shikamaru argued futilely.

"Well, the rest of the world doesn't." Temari answered back. "She may love you until the end of time, but as long as she looks like an available singleton, there will always be men after her."

That ended the argument right there. Shikamaru chose a simple, princess-cut, diamond on a sixteen-karat white-gold band. He used what's left of his budget to get _'Love me, don't ever let me go' _engraved into the inner band of the ring. It was the last line of his and Ino's chosen wedding song. Now, he was planning to give it to her on her next day off. He exited the jewellery store with his purchases and waited for Temari to finish hers.

Once Temari exited the store she quickly opened the packages in her hands and pulled out her new bracelet. She asked Shikamaru to put it on for her. Which he begrudgingly did. He'd never seen Temari so...smiley before. It was strange for him to see. Temari twirled and stared at her newly acquired jewellery. He smiled at her unexpected childishness.

"What are you staring at Nara? Don't look at me like that, do you want to die?" Temari glared at him.

"No, it's just that I didn't figure you as the fun type," Shikamaru retorted. "I thought that you were an uptight, overly practical know-it-all."

It was then that Temari launched herself at her fellow peer. Shikamaru didn't have enough time to dodge, his mind went into autopilot telling his body to do everything to stay up-right.

XXXX

What Ino witnessed as she and Kakashi turned the next corner was her fiancé in what she would describe as a "cozy" embrace. Shikamaru had fastened on an expensive-looking bracelet on the blonde's wrist, then a few words were shared before she launched herself at him. Shikamaru now had both arms around the other blonde's waist and she had her hands on his chest. From this angle, she couldn't see the woman's face, but she knew that she must have been happy. The first thought that came after the shock was to hide.

"Let's go this way, Mr. Hatake." Ino led the way toward a longer route.

Kakashi had felt the change in the bubbly blonde's disposition. He wanted to ask her if he'd done something wrong, but he felt that it would be better if he didn't open that can of worms.

Kakashi walked Ino all the way home, the silence between them was palpable and the misery in Ino's eyes was undeniable. To the older man, she looked like a kicked puppy or an abandoned child. Before Ino turned away from him to go inside, he knew that he had to ask for the reason why she suddenly became so upset. One word from him and Ino collapsed, a mass of tears.

Kakashi only did what instinct told him to do. He held the poor, helpless girl in his arms as a father would hold his crying child. Kakashi murmured comforting words into her ear, and Ino silently cried on his shoulder.

"I didn't know..." she whispered, her throat tight in despair. "Shikamaru."

She said his name over and over again while the scene of her fiancé's embrace with another woman burned into her memory. What had she done? Why did she hurt so much? Why?

Kakashi, having had seen the intimate embrace between another woman and who he figured had to be Ino's Shikamaru, held her hands to get her attention.

"Remember, we're not all bad." He said, referring to men in general. "There's someone who will treat you the way you are meant to be treated. There is a person out there who can make you love even more."

"No, it's Shikamaru," Ino shook her head. "It's always been him."

Kakashi accepted the answer, because it was the same for him too. There was only one woman for him, and he would never let her go. Even if she married someone else, he was sure that she would always hold a place, a memory, in his life until the day he died.

"Shikamaru..." Ino sobbed one last time before pulling away from the man she had only met that evening.

Kakashi had waited until her tears had ebbed and wiped away the glistening, wetness from the corner of her eyes. When Ino was able to stand on stable legs, he shook her hand one last time.

"I'm sorry, Miss Yamanaka."

"It's Ino, call me Ino." She said softly, seeking any sort of familiarity.

Kakashi smiled at the person before him. Maybe in another lifetime he could have been the man deserving of her. Maybe in another world he would have been the lucky bastard dating her, but, in truth, he was neither of those guys. All he can do was hope for the best and let her heal on her own. He knew that the first stab was always the deepest and it took months, sometimes even years to heal. For him, the magic number was one year. One year of grovelling and sulking. But in the end, he had to admit, there was always hope. There was something or, if there was a God up there, someone pulling him back in the right direction. So, he wasn't too worried about Ino. But, he knew the kind of pain Shikamaru had inflicted on her. It was the kind of pain that was the hardest to forgive, the hardest to overlook, the hardest imperfection to love.

XXXX

Shikamaru got out of Temari's car and walked across the street. It didn't take long before he saw his fiancée in another man's arms. The guy was surely older because of his silver locks, and the guy's looks were definitely in Ino's league. The well-to-do pretty boy that Temari had described for him earlier had emerged. He couldn't see Ino's face because of the dark, but he could sure imagine her smiling at the fair-haired man.

Shikamaru's anger steadily flowed through his veins. It rocked his very soul, but it wouldn't let him move. Because deep in his mind, he knew that this was coming. Ino was too good for him, and he knew that there was no luck for guys like him; the guys who had to work for every inch of slack in their lives. The image drove him wild with violent fury, his fear of rejection and making a fool of himself stopped him from stepping over that line.

At that, Shikamaru's gaze turned cool. His heart froze as he calmly interrupted the couple's embrace and looked into Ino's shocked face. He was sure that she hadn't expected to have been caught. But, he would forgive her, because she was all he had. She was everything that he wasn't and she counteracted all of his flaws and made him feel whole, complete. And all that he would ask of her was that she doesn't cheat in front of him.

"Ino, let's go," Shikamaru took Ino by the hand and lead her to their apartment.

Once inside the apartment, Ino burst into tears.

"Shikamaru," she sobbed his name.

"It's okay, Ino." He told her. "I knew that you being with me was too good to be true, but please, if you do have to see him again, make sure that I won't see him."

Ino caught on to what Shikamaru was saying.

"I only met him tonight," she said defensively.

So, it was a one-night stand. For some reason, Shikamaru couldn't accept this reason. He couldn't accept a stranger holding what belonged to him, he couldn't accept a stranger getting what he had worked months to get. When he first asked Ino out, she had brushed off the question. He had courted her for months before she agreed to a date. And now this guy, having just met her, was allowed to hold her?

"Ino, how could you? Isn't what we have important to you? I work hard at work so that we can have a good future, so that what we have can grow." Shikamaru said, frustrated.

"Oh, is that what you call it?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about wasting your money, our money on blonde bimbos!"

"What's wrong with you, Ino?" Shikamaru clutched his fiancée's shoulders and pulled her to him. "I forgive you. I don't care who that guy was, I don't care if there'll be others, just as long as you don't leave me."

Ino pushed him away.

"I'm not a whore, Shikamaru! You '_don't care if there'll be others'_?" Ino fumed, quoting him. "Well, you should care! That's what's wrong with you! You don't care, at least not anymore!"

"I care enough to forgive you, to let you have what you want." Shikamaru said lowly. "What more do you want from me?"

"I want you to come home early, I want you to spend more time with me, I want you to stop staying late at work, I want you to stop seeing that blonde snake you were with tonight!" Ino said driving each point by poking her finger into his chest. "That's what I want."

"She has nothing to do with us," Shikamaru said. "She's just a co-worker."

"Then why would you be out with this 'co-worker' on our only night together this entire week?" Ino asked him. "That's right, I saw you with her, tonight!"

"But—"

"I hate her so much, Shikamaru. Every time I close my eyes, I see you with her. I see the smile on your face when you looked at her. I thought that you only smiled at me like that." Ino sobbed. "I hate you so much! I hate you for looking at her, for making her happy, for leaving me."

She hated him. The words caused Shikamaru to snap.

"You hate me?" Shikamaru repeated, fear of rejection made him prickly with angst.

"Yes, I hate you!" Ino slammed a fist into his chest. "I gave you everything, I moved into this place with you. I work almost every night so we can pay our tuition and rent. I saved up money for us to go back home to Japan so that we can tell our family about the wedding! Damn it, Shikamaru, I gave you four years of my life. I gave you everything, and now I have nothing. There's nothing for me to salvage. You took everything. No more promises, no more sacrifices, nothing. There's nothing more."

"I don't know how I ever fell in love with a woman who could be so selfish. You're not the only one who sacrificed, both of us did. And we were working for a common goal."

"Do you want me, Shikamaru?" Ino said. "Or do you want your job?"

"Are you giving me an ultimatum?" Shikamaru kicked a chair into the wall. "You know that I do things for this relationship just as much as you do. I loved you so much, Ino."

"But now you don't," Ino wanted to storm out the door, it was part of her defence mechanism to try to get away from her problems, to run away so it won't hurt.

She got one foot out the door when she was brutally pulled back. She lifted her arms to protect herself.

"I'm not going to hit you, Ino." Shikamaru growled. "Why am I cursed to love a woman like you. One moment loving you feels good, the next moment it hurts. I hate feeling like this, Ino. I hate getting hurt by you."

"That's why I'm leaving, Shikamaru." Ino said lifting her chin proudly to keep from feeling hurt. She went to their bedroom and pulled out a backpack. She filled it with a few clothes and items, specifically leaving out all the stuff that Shikamaru bought her, and took her share of the money they had saved for their trip back home. Ino walked back towards the door. She would leave and go back home. She would forget about Shikamaru. She would act as if the four years with him didn't happen.

Shikamaru couldn't imagine Ino actually leaving him. She was turning the blade in his chest for her own amusement, well he couldn't have that. He couldn't let her get the last word. So, he said the words that he would have regretted later on in a fit of anger.

"I don't love you." The words hung in the air, it was too late to take back.

Ino nodded frigidly, numb by the admission. "I'm not coming back and the engagement is off."

"I fully agree." Shikamaru said stoically.

"Luckily you didn't give me a ring, so I didn't have to throw it in your face." Ino said before slamming the door.

Shikamaru pulled out the velvet box which held the ring he bought for his future bride not hours ago and threw it against the wall. Inside, he hoped that she would come back. He prayed that she would come back and once again tell him that she loved him. Because he loved her more than anything.

XXXX

**At Yamanaka Flowers, Present Day**

"Ms. Yamanaka, Ms. Yamanaka, are you alright?" one of the flower designers asked her drawing her out of her recollection of the past.

"I'm sorry, what was that you said?" Ino smiled brightly. "I'm still a little jet lagged from my flight back, I guess."

"That's okay, Ms. Yamanaka, I was just trying to say that a mix of white red and pink roses would probably be the best colors for this wedding." The woman pointed at the pictures of the said roses.

"Yes, I agree completely." Ino said. "But, please excuse me, I need some fresh air."

Ino walked out to the roof of her offices. There were a few employees smoking and making small talk. She hadn't tried to remember that last fight with Shikamaru since the months after when she had gotten back to Japan. She had kept trying to talk herself out of coming back to him. Eventually, her father had given up the family business and kept her busy. And then Hinata wanted to move out here in Konoha, she didn't expect to come back here. And then when she saw Shikamaru again on the _Soleil_ tour, she was sure that she almost died.

Here in the open air, where the sun was shining the brightest and the clouds hung in small collections of puff-balls in the sky, she was sure that she could never go back. She could never go back to giving everything she had to one person: to Shikamaru. It hurt so much the first time and she wasn't even sure if she had even healed completely from that first cut, but she sure didn't want to feel that again. She didn't know why women hurt themselves this way.

"Ms. Yamanaka," another employee interrupted her thoughts. "There's a Mr. Nara here to see you."

"Tell him that I'm busy." Ino said. She was determined not to fall in love again. Because, love didn't exist. It didn't make life any easier, it only complicated it.

_

_

_

_

A/N:

I am sorry about the month+ wait, I know that a lot of my usual readers a upset with me. I tried to make this chapter a lot longer and as detailed as I could in only a small amount of free time to write. I would like to thank all of those who reviewed for the last chapter, as well as those who just came by it and read the first sentence. This chapter should clarify what really happened between Shikamaru and Ino. Yes, in this chapter they had _another_ argument, but what I wanted to show was that the love that they had before, was real. Yes it was broken by jealousy and the stress of financial instability, but their love was real. The point that I wanted to make here was that, love isn't a walk in the park, it isn't just about feeling good with a person all the time. It's about choosing to stand by a person regarless of their mood, fears, and other weaknesses. Again, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please drop me a line: review.


	6. Drunk

Shikamaru threw his jacket onto his his chair in frustration. Ino was avoiding him. First, she ran away from him in Japan, and now she had ran away from him at Yamanaka Flowers. Her assistant first refused to let him through to her office, but he knew the security guard who had let him through the side entrance. He got as far as the roof, where he knew Ino always fled to when she had a lot on her mind. But, what he didn't get a was a warm welcome. Instead, what he got as a snarky remark and a curt goodbye.

"I have a meeting," she said turning away to take a phone call from her cell phone. "Set up a meeting with my secretary, I'll see you then."

If this was how she was going play it, he was willing to play her game; because life without her was harder to imagine than life without air. Now woman had ever affected him the way Ino did, and it made him incompetent at work, and he found himself unable to think about anything else. That was the main reason why he felt that he had to go out with Naruto and the rest of the guys. That's why he decided to go to the bar with his old college buddies-turned-international-rockstars. That was why he decided to have a couple of beers to ease off the edginess he was feeling. But then, he decided to take another and another, until he forgot. He forgot what the hell he was drinking. Ino was still tormenting his mind, but now he didn't know what on earth was going on.

Shikamaru sat numbly, leaning against the bar countertop watching the slew of people turn into a mass of moving colours. His head was precariously close to the sticky countertop with only his right arm supporting him. Then he had an urge to go to the washroom. He pushed off of his seat and almost hit his forehead against a nearby table. He apologized to the disturbed patrons before ambling towards the men's restroom.

He looked at the broken man reflected at him in the mirror and wiped at the image of him on the glass with his hand. No matter how hard he tried to erase the image, he still looked like a soulless man, an empty man. Now, he knew why in fairytales, villains were always seeking something from the hero. He wanted and pursued what every hero of a story got: a happy ending.

"Damn you, Ino. I hate your games, I hate your pettiness and cruelty, but why can't I hate you!" Shikamaru pushed himself up from the sink, before running to the toilette to vomit.

XXXX

**At Kiba and Hinata's new house in the Suburbs **

Ino brought with her a cake box with Hinata's favourite blueberry cheese cake as an offering to the four-month pregnant woman.

"Who's there?" Hinata asked from behind the door. "Kiba is that you?"

"Hey, Hinata, it's me, Ino." Ino answered.

Hinata opened the door and welcomed her best friend into a hug. "Ino, what brings you here?"

"Well, I was just in the neighbourhood and..." She trailed off when she saw Hinata's pertinent expression. "Alright, having a big house all to myself isn't what it was cracked up to be. I missed you."

Hinata smiled and took her into the living room. "Kiba isn't home yet, so we'll have plenty of time for girl talk. Man, I missed those."

"What's wrong?" Ino asked the dark-haired woman.

"It's just that Kiba doesn't want to leave me alone because of my condition and since I'm pregnant, he thinks that it's safer if he's around all the time to help me. What he doesn't realize is that I got along just fine without him hovering when you and I were roommates, but I can't tell him that since he's only looking out for me and our baby."

"Then where is he now?" Ino asked. "I Thought you said he wasn't home."

"I sort of forced him to leave and have a guy's night out with Naruto and the others so I can have some time to myself. Naruto came by and took him away an hour ago before he can change his mind. When you rang the doorbell I thought that he had made up some excuse to come home early."

"I brought home some cheese cake and thought I should share. " Ino quipped, rattling the carton so Hinata can hear its contents. "Do you want some?"

"Is it blueberry?" Hinata whispered.

"Yeah, your favourite." Ino stood. "Just tell me where your plates and forks are."

"I can get it if you want. Let's go to the kitchen."

Ino let Hinata lead her along the long hallway into the kitchen. The reds and orange in the room made it look cozy and inviting, Ino was sure that Hinata didn't know that Kiba had spent so much money on paints. Akamaru was on the floor beside the doors to the backyard. The Egyptian cotton table cloth on the dining table must have been worth a fortune; again, it must have been Kiba's doing.

Hinata started to pull at the appropriate cupboards and pulled out the most expensive china and silverware in the house. Ino was sure that if she had owned those plates, she would never take them out of the box. She cringed as Hinata held them in one hand as she crossed to the dining area.

"Have a seat," Hinata said, placing a plate in front of Ino. "Wait, did you want some coffee or tea?"

"No, it's fine, if I do want some later I can get it myself." Ino replied.

Ino took the knife from Hinata and volunteered to cut the cake. Hinata agreed that that would probably be the safest. Ino placed a piece of the blueberry confection onto Hinata's plate along with a dessert fork. Hinata immediately cut and popped at bite-sized piece into her mouth and moaned in delight.

"Mmmm, this is the best cheesecake ever, Ino."

Ino joined her friend and tried some of the cake as well. "You're right."

"So, what have you been up to? The last time I was with you was at Tenten and Neji's wedding." Hinata voiced. "Oh, wait, did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"Tenten and Neji are having a baby too!" Hinata said joyously. "Tenten says she doesn't care if it'll be a boy or a girl just as long as Neji doesn't make her stay at home like Kiba is doing to me. One thing I've found out since I got married and pregnant is that men, husbands actually, become very protective of you. Tenten says that Neji's the same. Sometimes I want to do something by myself, but Kiba always insists that he go with me or that he can do it for me."

"How about, I come by every week and take you out." Ino said. "I'm sure that Kiba will let me, he knows not to smother you."

"That'd be nice," Hinata seemed to be thinking the idea over. "Enough about me, we're supposed to be talking about you. So, did Naruto propose to you, yet?"

"What, Naruto?" Ino squeaked, choking on a piece of blueberry. "Propose to me?"

"Well, Kiba did mention that Naruto took you out a couple times and he did escort you to Neji's wedding."

"A few dates doesn't seem like a solid foundation for a proposal, Hinata." Ino explained. "Besides, I haven't seen him since the wedding either. What's with all of these questions about proposals anyway?"

"I guess since I got married and Tenten got married, I thought that it'd be really great if you got married too. And you always did say that Naruto was very attractive, so maybe you can marry him."

Ino laughed at Hinata's reasoning. Her married to Naruto? She can totally imagine pushing their beautiful blonde, blue eyed babies in a stroller. But, what she couldn't imagine was Naruto at her side. He was nice enough although a little too reckless and wild for her taste. And Ino was sure that she'd had enough of recklessness and wildness to last her a lifetime. Naruto was the hero that every woman alive probably dreamed of, but Ino couldn't shake the image of a lovely dark-haired, doe-eyed baby in her arms instead.

"Well, who are you going to marry, then?" Hinata enquired seriously. "Don't tell me that now you're a rich, successful business woman that you don't think that you'll get married."

"That was exactly what I was going to say." Ino said. "And it's true, I don't think I'll ever find somebody who isn't after my money or trying to deceive me. Back when I ran _Yamanaka Flowers_ from our apartment and that little coffee shop down the street, it was easier to find a date since I was poor. But now, with my face beside Naruto's on _HMH Magazine_, I don't think that I'll ever find someone who can look past my money. I've had plenty of offers for dates and even proposals from anonymous men, Hinata. I don't think that I can let my guard down like that when I've finally gotten my dream job. I don't think that I can ever find something better than what I have now."

"You told me yourself that you were lonely in your big house." Hinata touched Ino's hand with her pale fingers. "A big house isn't home if you feel lonely in it."

"I know, but it's all I have right now." Ino reasoned. "One day, it'll become home."

The phone beside the fridge rang loudly and interrupted the women's conversation.

Hinata got up and made her way to the phone.

"It's probably just Kiba checking up on me." She stated before taking the call.

Ino looked around the room, tuning out Hinata's conversation with her husband, and thought that maybe she should get her kitchen painted in the same fashion. It certainly would make her kitchen feel a little cosier.

"Yeah, I think that you should take him over. It's for the best." Hinata said worriedly on the phone. "Is he alright?"

The question brought Ino back to listening to her best friend.

"Is there something wrong?" Ino stood and helped Hinata sit back into her chair.

"Kiba's bringing Shikamaru." Hinata explained. "Kiba said that Shikamaru' tried to hang himself in the pub's washroom; if Naruto hadn't come and tackled him into a wall before he jumped off the sink no one knew what would have happened. Kiba thought that it'd be better if he took Shikamaru here so we can watch over him, keep from making a second attempt, and away from the tabloids."

XXXX

"It's her fault!" Shikamaru pounded his fist onto the dashboard. "The stupid, blonde bitch!"

"Calm down, Shikamaru." Kiba didn't know what to do. He'd never seen Shikamaru this out of it before and he'd never heard his manager describe anyone so colourfully, especially the blonde waitress at the pub; it was either her or Naruto. "We're almost there."

"Let me out!" Shikamaru started pulling at his seatbelt. "Let me out of the car!"

"No," Kiba answered stoically. "We have to fix you up first."

Shikamaru kept thrashing in his seat, trying to free himself. He was so drunk that he couldn't even process that all he needed to do was press the red button on the seatbelt lock. Kiba drove for the next hour with Shikamaru swearing like a sailor talking about how much he dispised the poor waitress, or Naruto. The damage to the men's washroom was going to be expensive, especially in keeping the employees quiet about the whole incident.

As he neared the driveway, Kiba looked over at his friend hunched over in the passenger seat. Shikamaru had thrown up a total of three times on the floor. It wasn't a pretty picture, but neither was Shikamaru. He could always get the car cleaned or, hell, buy a new car. He honked the horn twice signalling to Hinata that he was home. Hinata opened the door just as he got the seatbelt off of Shikamaru. Ino came barrelling out of the house and pushed him aside to get to the mostly unconscious man in the car.

"What happened to him?" Ino asked one question after another in military succession. "How much did he have to drink? Why is he unconscious? Is he hurt?"

"He's okay, Ino, he'll live." Was all Kiba said. He knew of Ino and Shikamaru's history, and by her different reaction to her ex as the last time he saw the two together, first at Shikamaru's office and then again at Tenten and Neji's wedding, Kiba figured that Shikamaru must have been ranting about her.

Ino pulled Shikamaru up from his hunched position and stuck his arm over her shoulders. She tried to lift him off the seat but his dead weight only allowed her to lift him a few inches off the seat.

"I'll get him, Ino." Kiba said. "Help Hinata get the room ready."

"It's ready. I can help." Ino countered.

"Okay." Seeing Ino's stubborn chin stuck out like that, Kiba knew that had no choice but to agree.

He hefted Shikamaru up over his shoulder as Ino let him walk past to the door. She ran ahead and opened the door. When he entered the house, Hinata was there waiting with a jug of water, apple juice and a kiss for her husband.

"I'm glad you're safe," Hinata told him.

"We have to clean him off, Hinata." Kiba commented. "He threw up three times in the car."

"I'll do it, you've done enough, Kiba." Ino said as she took a firmer grip on Shikamaru's arm.

"I'll help you get him in the tub and then he's all yours." Kiba lifted the unconscious man and took him upstairs with the two women in tow. Once in the tub, he left Ino to take care to the drunkard. He had to ask his wife a few questions about Ino and Shikamaru. Kiba explained to his wife what he had found out about Shikamaru and Ino.

"What do you know about them?"

"Not much, you see, Ino went to a different college than I did; she left Japan to study business abroad but then a semester before she was due to graduate, her father had decided to retire. That was when Ino came back to expand the family business in our hometown. So, I didn't know what she was up to in the four years she was gone. I had a feeling she met someone there but, I didn't know it was Shikamaru. She never talked about him. Then when I got my permission to leave, Ino sold the business in our hometown and moved here so she can come with me and we can be roommates. Not once did she mention Shikamaru."

"I see." Kiba took hold of Hinata's hands to comfort her nerves.

"I don't see anything!" Hinata gripped Kiba's hand. "Tell me what's going on."

"It's better if we leave them alone, Hinata." Kiba warned. "So, if I tell you, I don't want you meddling in Ino's love life."

"She's my best friend, of course, I'm going to meddle. I can't let her get hurt. I don't care if he's your friend!"

"He loves her." Kiba stated calmly. "And he doesn't think she loves him back."

"Oh," Hinata flushed and then swelled up with joy.

"That's right, 'oh'." Kiba repeated. "So, I don't want you saying anything to her, okay? I know that stubborn people only do the opposite of what people tell them to do, so let her find out on her own, okay?"

"Okay." Hinata smiled approvingly.

* * *

A/N:

I'm glad that I got this chapter in. I was really pressed for time, but I managed to finish everything in a few hours. I thank God for that. I had to tweek it a bit because of the last chapter. But, this time we're back to the actual plot. I have three more chapters after this. I don't know if I can wrap it up soon, but I will try my best. Again, I am so very thankful for everyone who has read and reviewed this piece. Your support had helped me continue with, not just this story, but the series as well.


	7. Past Hurts to Future Hopes

Ino stripped Shikamaru of his shirt, socks, shoes and jeans but didn't have the guts to take anything else off. He smelled like liquor and vomit and wouldn't have wanted to touch him with a ten-foot pole if she could have helped it. But, she knew that it was her fault. It was her fault for leaving him in Japan, for ignoring his calls, for ducking out when he came to her office, for running away. She pressed a hand to his forehead to check if he was as bad as he looked, but there wasn't a fever. His breath smelled rancid, from whatever mix of alcohol he'd consumed.

She took a face towel from one of the closets and soaked it in cold water. She pressed it to his face and wiped away the pieces of regurgitated food near his mouth. Shikamaru seemed to respond to the cool cloth. Ino started wiping at his neck and chest with it and then she soaked it again in cold water and pressed it to his forehead. He opened his dark-rimmed eyes. His eyes were a darker brown against his unusually, pallid skin.

"It's your fault," he breathed heavily as his eyebrows furrowed, squinting his eyes to focus on her.

"I know," she replied. "I'm sorry."

Shikamaru tried to sit up fully in the tub until the room started to spin. "Get me a bucket..."

Ino quickly snatched the trash bin and handed it to him. Shikamaru started to throw up into it until there was nothing left. Ino rubbed his back as he dry-heaved into the bucket. He cursed into the bucket when his stomach felt like turning inside and out.

"You never did have much tolerance for alcohol." Ino stated.

Shikamaru couldn't refute it. He handed her the bucket before falling back in the tub. "Kill me now." The headache was blinding and skull-splitting.

"If you couldn't do it, how do you think I can?" Ino mumbled before bringing Shikamaru back into a semi-sitting position.

"Why are you haunting me?" Shikamaru said, sick with delirium. "Leave me the hell alone, woman."

"Come on, we have to get you washed." Ino took him up with one arm and got him to scoot back to lean on the side of the tub. She turned on the tap to hot water and waited for the tub to fill before removing his hair tie. His hair cascaded down to his neck where its tips became damp with water. Ino combed her fingers through the soft, black tresses under the pretence of cleaning it. It brought back sentimental memories from the past once more, but Ino knew that memories were all that they'd ever be.

The bath seemed to have had marvellous effects on Shikamaru. He felt his strength come back. The heat seemed to pull out the tiredness in his blood. He sighed in relief when he didn't feel like his stomach was going to come out of his mouth anymore.

Ino drained the tub and then closed the curtains. She then turned on the shower all the way on cold to full blast. Shikamaru immediately jumped up and pulled the shower curtains free from their hooks and jumped out of the tub in nothing but his boxers.

"What the hell was that for?" He glared at her angrily. "It's freezing cold!"

"That's what my mom did to my dad whenever he got drunk. It worked on him, so I thought that it'd work on you. I'm glad it did." Ino turned off the shower before throwing a towel at Shikamaru. She turned to leave. "There's a toothbrush beside the sink, you'll really need that. I'll ask Hinata if Kiba will lend you some clothes."

Shikamaru was stone-cold sober when he walked up the gigantic bathroom mirror. He'd strip of his uncomfortably wet underwear and wrapped the dark green towel around his waist. He reached for the toothbrush Ino had indicated to him before taking a whiff at his breath. He nearly gagged at the scent. He took the tube of toothpaste and liberally applied it to the brush. Just for extra measures, he took the mouthwash he found in the cabinet by the sink and gargled some. How embarrassing was it that Ino had smelled him under such conditions.

Shikamaru wiped the wet floor with a dry towel before throwing everything but his clothes into the hamper near the door. He threw his clothes, except for his shoes into a garbage bag he found under the sink. He sprayed the air freshener a couple times until the room didn't smell so bad anymore.

Ino knocked on the door and deposited clothes into his awaiting hand. Shikamaru took hold of the grey t-shirt and gladly put it on. He then took a pair of black sweatpants and pulled them on as well. He threw the green towel into the hamper and grabbed his own clothes in the garbage bag and shoes before exiting the room.

"I brought cheesecake if you're hungry." Ino said to him. "And if you want to go home, I can give you a lift. But, Hinata and I did ready a room for you."

Shikamaru only nodded. He was still embarrassed for coming in a drunken stupor. He followed Ino to the kitchen where she had a slice of the cheesecake out on an expensive china and a jug of water, apple juice and a crystalline cup.

"Here, don't drop the plate. Hinata might not mind too much if you did, but I'm sure that Kiba will." Ino started to back out of the room. "I'll wait for you in the living room."

"Please stay," Shikamaru said.

"I don't think I'm ready to stay, Shikamaru." Ino said apologetically.

Shikamaru nodded in agreement. "I promise I won't talk about us."

"Okay then," Ino conceded and sat beside him.

Once Shikamaru finished the large helping of the cake, Ino waited for him to drink his tall glass of water and apple juice before leading him to the living room. There he put on his shoes.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" Ino asked him.

"Yes, please." He croaked. "I've disturbed Kiba and Hinata enough by coming here drunk."

Ino led him to her car which was parked beside Kiba's in the driveway. She handed him a plastic bag before entering the driver seat.

"I don't want you to wreck my interior leather seats like you did in Kiba's car." Was all she said. Shikamaru nodded despondently and entered the car.

XXXX

Ino drove the car like a lunatic and managed to speed through two four-way stops without blinking her ridiculously long eye lashes. As she entered the motorway, the car sped up at least thirty over the limit.

"Slow down will you?" Shikamaru said breaking his silence. "I don't want to die like this."

"Oh and hanging yourself from a rafter in the men's washroom is a better way to go?" Ino recalled waspishly.

"I was drunk." Shikamaru gave by way of an explanation.

"Oh, and that explains everything." Ino murmured sarcastically. "If Naruto hadn't come and saved your neck, you'd be getting embalmed at the morgue right about now."

"Well, sorry that I can't hold a candle up to your precious Naruto." Shikamaru grunted grumpily. He never got jealous of Naruto, but the fact that Ino brought him up made the dark-haired man unwittingly jealous of the blond idiot.

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw you two on the paper." Shikamaru shrugged.

"So, you're reading tabloids now?" Ino fumed as she exited the highway. "I'm going to bury Anko Mitarashi even if it's the last thing I do!"

"You can't," Shikamaru told her matter-of-factly. "I would have tried myself after what she wrote about _Soleil_, but she's just too good at what she does."

Ino only accelerated in reply. The faster she can get Shikamaru out of her car the better. The legal know-it-all just makes her so angry; her mood didn't help either.

"Shut up will you?" Ino growled. "Where do you live anyway?"

"I live in _Konoha Condos_. It'll be the first one on the corner." Shikamaru described his home.

Ino was surprised that she hadn't seen him in her neighbourhood before. She lived in the mansion behind the said condominiums. But, she'd rather die than mention the fact to her ex.

"Okay, I'll drop you off there. Do you have a key card or password to open the gates?" she asked benignly.

"How do you know that I live in a gated community?" he asked her severely.

"Well, I wouldn't expect you to live in an unprotected area, where people know you as the manager of _Soleil_." Ino voiced dubiously. "You've always been overly cautious and something of a control freak."

"Fine," Shikamaru gritted his teeth. "Enough already."

He knew that something was up. Ino was hiding something and he wanted to know what it was. Besides, they hadn't cleared up what had happened after Neji and Tenten's wedding in Japan.

Fifteen minutes later, they got to the gate of the condos. Shikamaru had to lean over Ino in the driver seat to get to the key pad where he punched in his code. The gates opened and Ino drove him to his home.

"There, you can get out now." Ino pressed on the power buttons on her door to unlock the passenger door.

"Wait, Ino, we have to talk." He stated pointedly as he looked her in the eye.

"There's nothing to talk about." She said just as stubbornly. "Have a nice life, Shikamaru."

Ino reached across and pulled the passenger door shut after Shikamaru and stomped down on the pedal.

She got out of the gates and drove the two minute drive to her own lonely house on the hill. She entered through her own gates and parked her car in the driveway. She decided to enter through the door in the garage instead of the front door. She walked into her gigantic living room and deposited her purse and shoes on the floor. She then made her way up the stairs to her room and collapsed on the bed before realizing that she hadn't washed her face and brushed her teeth yet.

"Damn," she grumbled into the pillow before peeling herself off the bed and marched like a zombie to the bathroom.

She took off her power suit and stockings and put on an over sized t-shirt that reached her knees. Once her nightly routine was taken care of, she plopped herself back on the bed hoping for sleep.

A few minutes later, a blinking light from the phone on the night table awoke her. She pressed the blinking button when a voice called out to her.

_/Ino, open the damned gate!/_ the voice demanded.

Ino sat up in shock.

_/If you don't open it, I'll jump it!/_ Shikamaru's angry voice filled her room.

Wordlessly, Ino pressed the button for the gate. In the silence of the evening, she could hear the gate retract as Shikamaru's footfalls echoed on the cobbled stone driveway. What had she done?

Moments later she could hear him banging on her front door.

"Ino open the door!" He yelled most likely waking the entire neighbourhood. "We have to talk!"

Ino was scared, she didn't know if she should call the police or risk going down and beating his skull in herself.

XXXX

Shikamaru pounded on the door once more. He knew that Ino lived here, he'd followed her car. Maybe he was still a little drunk or he was sick in the head, but all he knew was that his feelings for her had to end now. He couldn't take another sleepless night, he couldn't take another bottle to try to forget her, he couldn't go on pining after her, and he couldn't live with himself if he let her walk away from him one more time. Maybe he was lazy; that's why he didn't run after her the first two times she left, but God help him if he let her walk away from him one more time. Being rejected by the same woman three times would probably have driven any other man away, but it drove him crazy that he didn't know why she ran away again and again. And Shikamaru was determined not to leave until he found out her reasons.

Ino opened the door.

"What do you want now, Shikamaru?" she cocked an arm on her hip.

The large, baggy t-shirt and unpainted face before him did not make him want her less, in fact, it made Shikamaru want her more. He found himself tongue-tied for all but a moment before he found his reasoning.

"We have to talk." He told her. "Can I come in?"

"Whatever you have to say, I'm sure that you can say right here." Ino felt her heartbeat race, anticipating another heartbreak.

"Fine have it your way!" Shikamaru snapped. His hands balled into fists as he took a calming breath.

"Go on," Ino urged him on.

"As you wish," he said sardonically before starting. "I want to know why you ran away in Japan."

"Isn't it obvious why?" Ino forced a laugh. "It's to get away from you."

Shikamaru dreaded the answer, but knew that he'd rather have known than spend the rest of his life wondering why.

"Did you mean anything you said to me that night?" He asked her before adding. "When we were stranded."

Ino flinched before looking him in the eye.

"No," She lied.

Shikamaru glared angrily at her. Ino shied away and put her arms up in defence because she honestly thought that Shikamaru was going to hit her. When she opened her eyes she found that he'd already turned away from her and walked towards the gates.

Shikamaru silently walked to his condo. His fingers trembled and his head throbbed as if someone had taken a block of wood and smashed it over his head. Although the rest of his body was numb. He solemnly made his way to the master bedroom and deposited himself on his bed. He had wished for an end to this emotional rollercoaster that Ino strapped him on for and that's exactly what he got. But it wasn't what he wanted. He hadn't wanted to be the one to walk away. He hadn't wanted Ino to reject him.

Tears dripped from the corners of his eyes. They didn't ease the pain enough. Shikamaru grabbed for the lamp on his nightstand and threw it against the wall. Next he broke the alarm clock. He pulled open a drawer and pulled out a bottle of whiskey or wine—he didn't care. He took a deep swig from the bottle, some of the liquid fell from the side of his mouth and fell onto his shirt. He angrily swiped at his eyes when the tears—or maybe it was the alcohol—blurred his vision. Shikamaru laid watching the ceiling with an empty chest where one irreplaceable heart used to lay.

XXXX

Ino sat, a crumpled mass, in her entrance hallway. Watching Shikamaru walk away was the hardest thing she had to do. Letting go meant that she would have to do without him. It meant that she could finally, once and for all bury the past that she wanted but didn't want to remember. It meant that she could move on, it meant that she was free.

"I'm free," she whispered, telling herself that this is what she truly wanted. "I'm free."

She didn't feel freedom, she felt trapped with guilt. Ino realized the enormity of what she'd done, she realized that there was no freedom in revenge, and she had just bartered away her happiness for elusive freedom. Just like any woman in her circumstance, Ino cried. She cried for her present and future without Shikamaru.

Just then the front door opened behind her. She had hoped it was a serial killer or someone who'd get rid of her once and for all. Instead it was Kiba and Hinata.

"Ino, what happened?" Kiba lead Hinata to her. "What did he do?"

Hinata took hold of Ino's hand and sat on the floor beside her friend.

"We thought that Shikamaru was going to stay over at our house and when I got Kiba to check if he was doing okay in his room we found that he was gone and so were you. I got really worried because you didn't even leave a message. And when we used to live in the apartment you'd always call and leave a message." Hinata explained. "Kiba said that Shikamaru might have gone with you, but when we tried to call the two of you, neither of you would pick up. I had a really bad feeling about the whole thing and Kiba agreed that we should check up on the both of you."

"Are you okay?" Kiba didn't like weeping women, it made him uncomfortable.

Ino shook her head 'no'.

"I'm not okay." She admitted. "I'm a bad person."

"I think that you should check up on Shikamaru," Hinata suggested to her husband. "I can take care of Ino."

Ino pressed her head on to her best friend's shoulder and cried louder. Hinata patted her back and murmured comforting words.

"I made him leave, Hinata. Don't you realize that I'm the bad guy. I'm the one who broke him. I killed off whatever's left of his feeling for me. I really hurt him. He's not coming back. I just-I just wanted him to hurt just as much as he hurt me. I thought that if I hurt him enough, my stupid childish feeling for him will go away."

"Feeling love isn't a childish feeling, Ino. That's the most mature emotion out of every emotion. Sometimes we think that what we feel is love only because we want it so bad, but I think that what you and Shikamaru have is the real deal." Hinata soothed. "It's going to be okay, Ino. If he really does love you, he'll come for you."

"What if he's done with me? What if he doesn't come back?" Ino sobbed.

"We'll deal with that when we really know." Hinata told her.

"I don't think that I can settle with that. I want him back." Ino said through dripping tears. "I can't forget him. I can't hate him. I can't un-love him. God, I'm sorry, Shikamaru."

Hinata had no response to that so she just held Ino and comforted her. It was hard seeing the usually peppy blonde so miserable.

XXXX

Kiba felt guilty for leaving Hinata, but knew that if Ino was this messed up, Shikamaru might be just as bad. He prepared himself for a fight with his manager. Normally, it took a lot for Shikamaru to react, but it seems that when it comes to Ino, Shikamaru transformed into a violent beast. Kiba walked to the condo where Shikamaru resided and found the front door open. The many times he'd been here before, Kiba was sure that Shikamaru always kept his door locked. He immediately ran up the stairs to the master bedroom, there he found Shikamaru staring at the ceiling, his borrowed shirt soaked with whiskey.

"Sit up you bastard." Kiba took the other man by the shirt and hauled him up to a sitting position. "What did you do to Ino?"

"Nothing," Shikamaru pushed the other man away. "Get the hell off me!"

"Nothing-my-ass, she's over there crying!" Kiba pointed towards Ino's house. "I've never seen a woman cry like that before. Considering she's my wife's best friend, I want to know what you did. I want an answer now, Shikamaru!"

"Maybe she finally realized what a cold-hearted bitch she actually is." Shikamaru laughed.

Kiba watched in horror as his friend and manager became unrecognizable. The Shikamaru he knew would never talk bad about a woman, let alone a woman he must have loved once.

"How could you say that about her? I thought you loved her." Kiba said confused.

"How could I love someone like her?" Shikamaru spat. "She thinks she's too good for anybody let alone an average man like me."

Shikamaru stood up on shaky legs and tried to exit the room. "Go away, Kiba, I don't need a lecture."

"Get off your high horse, Shikamaru; I'm not here to lecture you. I'm here to make sure that you didn't kill yourself." Kiba said with ire.

"Well, I don't need you to worry about me." Shikamaru announced. "As you can see, I am doing just fine without her. Actually, I think I'm going to celebrate for finally getting the monkey off my back!"

Kiba could not and would not accept that. "How can you live with yourself?"

"Hey, I'm not the one who rejected her. She rejected me!" Shikamaru pushed the former _Soleil_-band member into a wall. "And you have no business meddling in my affairs."

Kiba pulled his arm back and swung his fist into Shikamaru's cheek. The band manager fell back on his butt.

"You have two choices, Shikamaru." He grimaced. "You can either go after her and tell her that you're not going to give up on her or you can live with your insecurities for the rest of your life! Because no matter how much I want to beat your brains in for giving up on the one good thing in your life, I feel sorry for you."

"I tried that, Inuzuka. I told her I loved her, I tried to make nice, but she still threw it all back in my face!" Shikamaru shouted. "What more can a person do? What more does she want from me?"

"You're going to let a little rejection scare you?" Kiba watched the pathetic man before him. "Ino wouldn't be crying if she didn't care about you, she wouldn't have cleaned off the mess that you were a couple hours ago if she didn't love you. What you want are words, but she's shown you time after time how much she does care. And all you give back to her are your bloody words and empty promises. You have to show her that she's more than just another contract. You have to show her that you respect her for the woman that she's become, not the woman she was when you met her."

Shikamaru tried to protest. "But—"

"I saw the way that you looked at her when we were at Tenten and Neji's wedding. What you wanted was what the two of you had in the past. But, it's too late for that. That relationship is gone already. You have to look at her as the person she is now. She's not the young waitress you told me about in college, she's a strong woman with a striving business. So, don't act like you're the one doing her a favour."

Shikamaru rubbed his bruised cheek and glared at Kiba with cloudy eyes.

"Just get out of my house, Inuzuka." Shikamaru stated calmly. "I don't need you to direct my life."

Kiba stomped down the stairs and out the front door after saying. "Direction in life is the least of your problems, Nara."

XXXX

* * *

A/N:

I got a full day off, and this the fruit of it. Instead of writing two separate chapters as I had originally planned, I decided to put the two chapters together. This is mainly because I feel that some readers just want to get this story over and done with, and I didn't want it to lag anymore than it already has. So, in this chapter, we find out what message I wanted to portray in this work. I wanted to show how that we can't really fully let go of someone we love (be it a friend, family member or significant other). If you truly love a person, you will do what is best for them, not think about what you want and what you need from them--like what Ino and Shikamaru was doing. Although, thanks to Hinata and Kiba they've seen some of the light.

I'm happy to say that the next chapter will be the conclusion to this little story. As for, part 4 of 4 of the Days Series/Saga, I haven't started on it, but I have planned it out. It should tie up a lot of loose ends for everyone, and also this is one pairing that I don't think anyone will guess. I'm excited.


	8. Cloudy Day

**Nara Ancestral Home, Japan**

Shikamaru watched the clouds float above him. He closed his eyes and felt all the tension come back to him. It was Kiba's fault that he was here. The entire band told him that he was either going to go on vacation or they were going to fire him as their manager. And with his love-life down the crapper, he couldn't let his career go the same way. He thought that he had no choice but to leave.

The last time he was in Japan, for Neji's wedding, he was in the south for the Hyuga Estate had been on the _Kyushu_ province of the country and he didn't want to cross to the next island, the _Kansai_ region, to visit his family. He'd gotten an earful from his mother, when she found out that he had been in Japan, about how he hated his family and couldn't even visit is parents—the people who raised him to become rich and successful.

Now, he realized that home was really the only place he felt welcome. He was able to spend his days lazing around like he used to back when he was a teenager. He couldn't remember feeling so relaxed. A part of him wondered why he didn't stay here and continue the family trade in rice farming. But, then again, his mother did always tell him that he had too much brain and not enough muscle for the work here.

Shikamaru opened his eyes when he felt a shadow fall over him. A dark-haired, loud-mouth woman, he called his mother, stood above him.

"So, is this all you're going to do while you're here?" She snapped at him. "Your father says to leave you alone, but a mother always worries about her son. Especially when he's too lazy to find a girlfriend he can bring home to his parents to meet."

"I told you, mom, that I'm too busy to find a girlfriend." Shikamaru glared.

"How is your father going to be able to see his grandchildren if his only son won't hurry up and find a wife?" His mother's dark eyes bore down at him, sceptically. "Your father and I aren't getting any younger, you know."

"I know, but—" An image of Ino flashed in his mind. But he fought off the possessing thought.

"How are we supposed to continue the family name when all you care about are boy-bands and work? Couldn't you have at least signed a girl group so you can marry one of them?"

"Mother, I don't mix business with pleasure." Shikamaru stood to overshadow his mother. He couldn't fight her without at least some effort on his part. "And before you ask, no, there is no girl for me to take home and there is no one waiting for me back in _Konoha_."

"Well, then you're lazier than I thought. Even your father asked me to marry him at your age. How are we supposed to have grandchildren when you won't do your job? You're almost thirty."

"You trying to guilt-trip me isn't going to work. And before you even try, I won't fall for any of your matchmaking." Shikamaru frowned at his mother's determined expression.

"Ooohhh, you think you're so smart, huh? Just because you came from the city? Well, one day you're going to meet a woman who's going to break your smug, cocky smirk and bring you down a few notches and then I'll have my grandkids." This said, Shikamaru's mother left to go on her way. "I just hope she comes soon enough so that I can have my _mago _while I can still carry them in my arms."

"She already came and left mother," Shikamaru said bitterly when his mother was long gone.

He turned his gaze back to the clouds. The brimstone in his eyes ebbed somewhat when he saw the puffy, white pockets of water. But, beyond the clouds was the sky, the exact colour of Ino's eyes. Even thousands of miles away from her, he couldn't escape her.

"Don't think about her, you idiot." He urged himself. "Forget her and her stupid blonde bimbo hair and ugly, blue-coloured eyes."

He watched as the sun came up higher in the sky. He'd been here for almost a month now and the air was as refreshing as it could have been. And their home was basically isolated, which meant that he didn't have to deal with other people. It wasn't long before he could hear his mother calling him for lunch. He wanted to stay and watch the clouds a little longer, but found that it might be better if he went back inside before he got sunburned. He was already a little darker because of his time spent lying outside. Shikamaru walked back to the house. He entered through the back door and went directly to the kitchen.

"Yeah, sorry to keep you waiting." He said to appease his mom's complaints about his lateness. "Tell dad to leave me some _okonomiyaki_ for me."

His mother only walked up to him and glowered at him.

"You're a liar." She stated and went out back to get more tea.

"Okay, I'm not really sorry about being late, but you never took it seriously before." He answered, following his mother and helped her fill the pot with more water before putting it on the stove fire.

"I don't mean about that." She frowned.

"What do you mean then, ma?" Shikamaru was immediately pulled by the hair and taken to the dining room. "Ow, let go!"

"I mean that," Mrs. Nara pointed at Ino. "You told me there was no girl!"

Ino looked up from her cup of tea and watched Shikamaru's surprised expression.

Shikamaru pried his mother's grip off his head and swallowed audibly. Fear sprouted from the bottom of his feet and crept up his body to hold his heart in a vice.

"Ino," he breathed desperately.

"Shikamaru," she tilted her head in greeting.

His insides churned and flipped and flopped until he felt sick and bile tasted in the back of his throat. He stared at Ino as if he was seeing a mirage or scared stiff. His father, who was sitting at the head of the table coughed inconspicuously to warn him of his impolite staring.

"Don't stand there gawking like an idiot," Shikaku finally had to tell his son since he wasn't getting the message. "Sit down and eat."

Shikamaru sat down across from Ino beside his mother. He did his best not to look at her. He wondered what in the world was she doing here. What was she doing here of all places? Didn't she have a business to tend to?

He carefully watched as Ino took another sip of her tea. She looked a lot thinner than when he last saw her. Her hair had lost its lustre, but her stubborn chin was still held up stubbornly. The table was silent as each person ate their meal without much incident.

Shikamaru's mother was ecstatic, she was sure that her son was going to marry the young woman before her. Shikamaru had finally brought home a woman. And the girl was beautiful. Ino was a lot better looking than any woman she imagined would fall in love with her son. Mrs. Nara was a very proud mama.

"So, when is the wedding?" she asked the couple, breaking the silence. "You have mine and your father's blessings."

Shikamaru choked on a piece of shrimp and Ino on her tea.

"Oh, I'm sorry, was it supposed to be a secret?" Mrs. Nara continued. "I can keep it as secret, but of course we have to invite the neighbours and the town officials to the wedding. I can't have my only son elope. The two of you will be married here, right?"

"Please excuse me," Ino said before getting up, walking to the door and exiting.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Shikamaru also excused himself and followed Ino.

"Stupid young people," Mrs. Nara surmised.

"Woman, shut up will you? Don't ruin it for your son." Shikaku told his wife. "You might embarrass him out of the wedding if you do."

XXXX

"Why are you here?" Shikamaru asked Ino when he found her sitting on the grass where less than an hour ago he had lain and watched the sky.

"I came here to apologize." She said breaking eye contact to look at the clouds floating. "I tried to call you but you wouldn't answer. I even went to your house, but nobody was home. Kiba finally told me that you went back to Japan to visit your folks."

Shikamaru listened to her babbling with rapt attention.

"Why'd you run away?" he finally voiced.

"It's because I was afraid of what you can do to me. I was scared that if we break up again, there won't be anything left of me. I can't get hurt again. When you said that one time wasn't enough, and that you wanted us to get back together, it scared me to death. Because loving you, leaving you and letting you go was the hardest thing I had to do. I never once forgot you after we broke the engagement. I kept wondering what would have happened if it was us. If we had gotten married if I got my happily ever after. And when you came back and said you wanted another chance, I kept thinking that if we mess it up again, how much more would I dream of having the life I wanted to have with you." Ino's tears dripped as she hung her head in shame.

Shikamaru handed her a handkerchief; blue, like her eyes. She took it gratefully and blew her nose a couple times and swabbed her eyes with it.

"I'm really sorry that you're mom thought that we were going to get married. I shouldn't have agreed to come inside, but she was just so welcoming, I couldn't say no." Ino said with a forced laugh. "Shikamaru, say something, you're making me nervous."

"I'm not sorry." He said.

"I know it was entirely my fault. I didn't mean to be so cruel—I guess I...just wanted revenge on how you made me feel. I wanted you to hurt because...I got hurt by what you said to me." Ino cursed herself for stumbling on her words and nattering nonsense. "I realized that I made a mockery of how you felt about me. I can't take any of those words back, but I'm really sorry."

"I wasn't talking about that." Shikamaru held her hand in his and looked her in the eye.

Ino tried to back-track and try to think of what Shikamaru could not be sorry about. "I don't get what you're trying to say."

"I meant that, I'm not sorry that my mom thought that we were getting married." Shikamaru watched Ino's shocked face. "I guess being here for a while now, I learned that letting someone go is half the battle. To fall out of love with them is the other half. And I don't think I can force myself to fight that battle. Because if I win that battle, I don't get the prize."

Ino watched the man before her, dumbfounded though teary eyes. How could he still love her? How could he still love her after all she put him through? After rejecting him, breaking him, and sending him away? When she voiced these questions, he only said:

"Because that's what love is. You kill every portion of what's wrong with yourself so you can watch another person live." Shikamaru answered. "I killed off my anger, cynicism, and alcoholism so that I can see you live for the rest of my life."

"Yes!" Ino shouted and hugged Shikamaru. "Yes, I'll marry you!"

"I didn't even ask yet."

"I don't care, the answer is still yes!" Ino genuinely laughed. She stood up and pulled up lazy Shikamaru with her. "I want to get married before we change our minds again."

"A little eager, aren't you?" Shikamaru scratched the back of his head. "Maybe we should take this slow."

Ino pulled the _Soleil_ manager into a lip-lock that would put the sun to shame and make the clouds blush pink.

"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet." She told Shikamaru.

"No, I'm on cloud nine," he joked.

"How are your feet?" Ino asked dramatically.

"Tingly, but pleasantly grounded."

"Good." She said before he dipped her for another kiss.

Ino was then carried off back to the house where Shikamaru announced to the rest of the family that the wedding was on. Mrs. Nara had a lot of wedding planning to take care of. And for once, Ino didn't care who did the flowers, just as long as the wedding was on a _Nara, Kansai_ cloudy day.

A/N:

First off, I would like to thank everyone who read and reviewed this story. Special thanks goes out to those who has followed the series from the beginning. Without your input and encouragement I would not have finished this story. And, yes, this is the end of this story. There is only one more story left in this series called _Windy Days_. I wonder if anyone can guess the pairing for this story... Feel free to take a guess, although, I don't think that this pairing will be expected.

Again, I am grateful for your continued support in my abilities.


End file.
